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A Review of Serious Gaming as an Intervention for HIV Prevention

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Abstract

Purposeof Review

Young people face the highest number of new HIV infections globally. With today’s increasing access to smartphones, serious games have been viewed as an effective means of improving knowledge and behavioral outcomes. This systematic review describes current HIV prevention serious games and their relationship with HIV-related knowledge and behavioral outcomes.

Recent Findings

A search of HIV prevention serious games was conducted using PubMed, CINAL, IEEE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. A total of 31 papers were identified, which consist of 20 studies and 11 protocols. Results for knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors were mixed. Two interventions reported improvement in PrEP usage and optimal dosing.

Summary

Gaming appears to be a viable and engaging method to improve knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral outcomes to promote HIV prevention among diverse groups of adolescents and young adults globally. However, additional research is needed to understand how to implement this modality effectively.

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Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study. This study consist of a review of literature.

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Nursing – Population Health Systems Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Ariel U. Smith & Janna Jann

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Gabriella M. Khawly & Rebecca Schnall

  3. Division of Scholarship and Research, Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA

    Ana Paola Mata Zetina & Janeth Padilla

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  1. Ariel U. Smith
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Correspondence to Ariel U. Smith.

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Smith, A.U., Khawly, G.M., Jann, J. et al. A Review of Serious Gaming as an Intervention for HIV Prevention. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 20, 181–205 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-023-00659-9

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