Application of Serious Games in Health Care: Scoping Review and Bibliometric Analysis

Wang, Yue; Wang, Zhao; Liu, Guoqing; Wang, Zhangyi; Wang, Qinglong; Yan, Yishan; Wang, Jing; Zhu, Yue; Gao, Weijie; Kan, Xiangling; Zhang, Zhiguo; Jia, Lixia; Pang, Xiaoli · 2022 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.896974

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Summary

This study investigates the application of serious games (SGs) in healthcare, aiming to identify research hotspots, trends, and target populations to guide future inquiry. Motivated by the increasing use of SGs as interventions to improve knowledge, change behavior, and affect health outcomes, the authors sought to synthesize existing literature quantitatively and qualitatively. The research addresses the lack of comprehensive analysis regarding the scope and direction of SG applications in clinical and educational settings. The researchers employed a combined methodology of scoping review and bibliometric analysis. Data were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection database, covering literature from the database’s inception through October 11, 2021. The search strategy utilized keywords related to serious games and healthcare, limited to articles and reviews in English. After screening titles and abstracts, 795 articles were included from an initial pool of 1,322. The analysis followed the Arksey and O’Malley framework for scoping reviews and used CiteSpace software for bibliometric visualization. Metrics analyzed included country contributions, study categories, annual publication output, cited authors, journals, articles, and keyword co-occurrences. The results revealed an exponential increase in publication volume, with the United States contributing the largest share (27.4%) of global publications. The most common study categories were healthcare sciences services (20.8%) and medical informatics (20.6%). Target populations were primarily children (18.0%), youth (13.8%), and the elderly (10.9%), with Alzheimer’s disease/dementia and mental illness being the most studied conditions (4.7% each). Baranowski T was identified as the most influential author (103 citations), while *PLOS ONE*, *Games for Health Journal*, and the *Journal of Medical Internet Research* were the top cited journals. Keyword analysis highlighted "rehabilitation," "medical education," and "design" as central themes. The bibliometric network indicated strong international collaboration and a knowledge base dominated by systematic reviews rather than primary clinical trials. The study concludes that SGs in healthcare are a rapidly growing field with significant potential in rehabilitation, medical education, and game design. The dominance of review articles suggests a need for higher-quality primary clinical studies to validate efficacy. The findings provide a structured overview of the field’s evolution, identifying specific age groups and disease areas as priority targets. By mapping the current landscape, the authors offer a reference for researchers to identify gaps and direct future efforts toward robust empirical evidence and targeted interventions.

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