GAMIFICATION APPROACHES IN WOMEN'S HEALTH

Abstract

Objective: Gamification refers to the use of game design elements in non-game contexts and is increasingly incorporated into digital health applications to support engagement, learning, and health-related behaviors. This review aims to examine the current areas of gamification use in women’s health, evaluate the reported outcomes of gamified interventions, discuss limitations of existing studies, and consider their potential implications for women’s health nursing.

Methods: Current studies addressing gamification in different areas of women’s health were reviewed. Interventions were considered within the scope of gamification when game design elements were integrated into a non-game health, education, or care context. Serious games, exergames, and other stand-alone game-based interventions were conceptually distinguished from gamification.

Results: Gamified interventions in women’s health are concentrated mainly in sexual and reproductive health, the perinatal period, breast health, and psychosocial health. Gamified education for adolescent girls has been associated with improvements in puberty and menstrual health-related awareness and practices. During the perinatal period, gamification has been used in childbirth preparation, nutrition during pregnancy, breastfeeding counseling, and postpartum lifestyle interventions. In breast health education, gamified digital environments have shown potential for improving short-term knowledge acquisition. In psychosocial health, gamified interventions targeting body image and eating disorder risk have also yielded favorable outcomes. However, study designs, intervention characteristics, target groups, and assessed outcomes vary considerably, and findings are not consistent across all health outcomes. Some interventions have been evaluated in randomized controlled trials, whereas others remain at the development or usability stage.

Conclusion: Gamification has potential as a complementary approach in women’s health education, counseling, monitoring, and self-management. Future studies should clearly distinguish gamification from other game-based approaches, explicitly report the game elements used, and evaluate longer-term behavioral and clinical outcomes.