A systematic review on the efficacy of virtual reality and gamification interventions for managing anxiety and depression.

This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) and gamification interventions in addressing anxiety and depression. The review also seeks to identify gaps in the current VR treatment landscape and provide guidelines for future research and development. A systematic literature search was conducted using Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases, focusing on studies that utilized VR and gamification technology to address anxiety and depression disorders. A total of 2,664 studies were initially identified, 15 of those studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. The efficacy of VR in addressing anxiety and depression was evident across all included studies. However, the diversity among VR interventions highlights the need for further investigation. It is advised to incorporate more diverse participant samples and larger cohorts and explore a broader spectrum of therapeutic approaches within VR interventions for addressing anxiety and depression to enhance the credibility of future research. Additionally, conducting studies in varying socioeconomic contexts would contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of their real-world applicability.

Adolescents' perceptions of active school transport in northern Sweden.

Active school transport (AST) refers to using active means of transport such as walking, cycling, or riding a non-motorised scooter to school. It can help improve adolescents' physical activity levels and create a more sustainable environment. The study involved 70 adolescents (45 boys and 25 girls) aged 13 to 14 from one school in Skellefteå, in Northern Sweden. In an online questionnaire, they were asked about their perceptions of cycling, walking, and riding a non-motorised scooter to school. This study used descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and hypothesis testing with ANOVA to analyse the collected data and compare the perceptions of different types of transport on safety, environmental, and personal factors among adolescents in Northern Sweden. According to the results, more adolescents walked to school than cycled, and significantly few rode a non-motorised scooter to school. Most adolescents believe walking or cycling to school is a great way to exercise. Furthermore, the study also revealed that many adolescents avoid using AST due to the time it takes. Although the study showed that adolescents felt sufficient support for using AST from schools and parents, the number of adolescents using motorised transport is higher during winter than in summer. Additionally, most of them were more confident about cycling and walking to school than riding a non-motorised scooter and thought using AST was nice. Finally, most adolescents perceived having complete control over their transport options when going to school. The research indicates that it is crucial to implement interventions that inspire children to be interested and excited about using AST. These strategies should include fostering an AST culture that is fun and positive, as well as creating environments that are safe and supportive. The research results will guide the creation of a persuasive game that can motivate adolescents to use AST and measure its effectiveness.

Virtual Reality for Addressing Depression and Anxiety: A Bibliometric Analysis.

Virtual reality is an emerging field in mental health and has gained widespread acceptance due to its potential to treat various disorders, such as anxiety and depression. This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of virtual reality (VR) use in addressing depression and anxiety from 1995 to 2022. The study analysed 1872 documents using the Scopus database, identifying the field's most relevant journals and authors. The results indicate that using VR for addressing anxiety and depression is a multidisciplinary field with a wide variety of research topics, leading to significant collaborative research in this area. The Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine was identified as the most relevant journal, while Behavior Research and Therapy was found to be the most cited journal. The analysis of keywords suggests that there is more research on using VR for anxiety and related disorders than for depression. Riva G. was identified as the top author in producing research outputs on VR-AD, and the University of Washington emerged as the leading institution in scientific outputs on VR-AD. Thematic and intellectual analyses helped identify the main themes within the research domain, providing valuable insight into the current and future directions of the field.