Background: Despite increasing evidence for the effectiveness of Serious Games (SG), research and the implementation of such digital measures in mental health care lags behind. Insights into...Show moreBackground: Despite increasing evidence for the effectiveness of Serious Games (SG), research and the implementation of such digital measures in mental health care lags behind. Insights into attitudes and their influencing factors for professionals and clients of mental health care are assumed to facilitate the implementation and development of SG. Objective: This study aimed to gain a greater understanding of the attitudes of professionals and clients of mental health care towards SG and factors that influence (media usage, gaming experience) and moderate that relationship (age, gender). Method: A cross-sectional online survey with a quantitative study design was conducted with professionals (N = 166) and (former) clients of mental health care (N = 154). Two independent samples t-tests were conducted to study the influence of media usage and gaming experience on attitude towards SG, whereas four ANCOVAs were applied to examine the moderating effects of age and gender. Results: Media usage and gaming experience did not significantly influence the attitude towards SG in both samples. Also, age and gender did not significantly moderate the studied relationship. Conclusion: The factors media usage and gaming experience and the moderators age and gender do not contribute to a greater understanding of the attitude towards SG. Following these variables cannot facilitate the implementation and development of SG in mental health care. Based on the chosen sampling and measurement methods, the collected data was not considered representative of the studied population and statistical analysis were conducted with reduced power.Show less
Background: Serious games for mental health purposes is a young but rapidly growing concept, however, implementation in clinical practice lags behind. Knowing the characteristics and attitudes of...Show moreBackground: Serious games for mental health purposes is a young but rapidly growing concept, however, implementation in clinical practice lags behind. Knowing the characteristics and attitudes of the users, mental health professionals, will aid in seeking the optimal design and more efficient implementation. Objective: We wanted to gain more insight on what professionals want from the games, and if knowledge about games or practicing different therapeutic modalities is related to attitude on serious games. Method: We surveyed 123 MPHs via a cross-sectional online survey about technology usage, gaming knowledge, and attitudes towards serious games. Data were analysed using a t-test, chi-square test, exploratory factor analysis, and an ANOVA. Results: The results showed that overall interest to implement serious games with their own clients was high (75.6%), and perceived benefits outweighed perceived disadvantages, but current implementation rate was very low (.8%). The biggest reason for not wanting to use serious games was lack of knowledge (14.6%). Knowledge about gaming was significantly positively correlated to overall attitude, and with willingness to implement. There was no significant relationship between any specific therapeutic modality and the overall attitude towards serious games, which contradicts results from previous studies. Conclusion: Knowledge about games increases the attitude and willingness to try serious games with clients. Most mental health professionals reported to have beginner knowledge, thus educating them about (serious) gaming could help with implementation and adherence. More research is needed to map out why the professionals who are interested have not yet tried serious games. User-centred design (UCD) should be widely implemented when developing serious games for mental health purposes.Show less
