Digital games can improve pediatric mental health

October 15, 2024

Get out the video game console! Screens can improve the mental health of children and adolescents!

Digital mental health interventions use a technology platform to improve a user’s mental health. These are less expensive and more scalable than individual psychological therapy and could be used by children who cannot otherwise gain access to care.

But it’s difficult to get children to engage in these programs. Adding elements to a game can increase engagement. For example, children might compete to attain levels of achievement in a game that teaches them how to increase their attention span or manage impulsive reactions.

Researchers scoured the medical literature and found 27 well-designed studies of gamified digital mental health interventions to treat depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and anxiety. In each study, participants were randomized to receive the gamified intervention or an intervention. The total sample size across these studies was just under 3,000.

The researchers pooled these to do a metaanalysis and found that these therapies were statistically significantly better than no therapy for both ADHD and depression, and slightly better than no therapy for anxiety, although this failed to reach statistical significance.

Implications for employers:

• These results are encouraging, as it appears that these gamified digital mental health interventions are promising for depression and ADHD, although less so for anxiety.

• These interventions could be used as an adjunct to traditional drugs or therapies or replace them in some instances.

• Most digital mental health interventions are not covered by commercial health insurance plans, although rigorous evaluations and FDA approvals could pave the way for such coverage. Medicare has created a roadmap to cover digital interventions but only when they are furnished by a clinical provider.

• Vendors are increasingly integrating digital mental health interventions for children into their offerings. Employers may find their members have access to such programs through health insurance plans, employee assistance programs, or other mental health solutions. 

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Illustration by Dall-E

Tomorrow: Disparities in medication assisted treatment, HIV suppression and preventive care