Development, Usability and Feasibility Pilot Study of a Videogame

NCT ID: NCT07048119

Last Updated: 2025-07-02

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

317 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2018-03-01

Study Completion Date

2018-12-15

Brief Summary

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Mental health disorders are one of the leading causes of illness globally. The importance of psychosocial skills acquired in early childhood, such as executive functions, inhibitory control, emotional regulation, and social problem-solving, in preventing mental disorders has been reported. Furthermore, mental health care delivery is evolving, and mobile technology is becoming the medium for assessment and intervention. We developed Japi 1.0, a video game, to stimulate cognitive and non-cognitive skills in early childhood. This study aims to assess the functionality of this video game, student engagement and behavior, classroom climate, the feasibility of the implementation of the study and to explore the impact of the video game on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills.

Detailed Description

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The use of technology in preventive interventions allows, on the one hand, the development of cost-effective strategies and, on the other, access to a large population. There are a number of therapeutic and preventive initiatives that have begun to be used in the mental health field in adolescents and adults. These interventions have been delivered through websites or mobile applications, and have shown some effectiveness. However, there are no studies on using these technologies in preschool populations. There is consensus in the scientific community that the stimulation of cognitive and non-cognitive skills in the first years of life promotes development in general and produces a beneficial impact in the long term on health and on different economic indicators.

The objectives of this research are: 1) To develop a video game prototype to be used on tablets by pre-kindergarten students from socio-economically vulnerable schools, which allows stimulating working memory, behavioral inhibition, emotion recognition, and social problem-solving skills in such a way as to prevent the development of behavioral problems and general psychological distress; 2) To carry out a pilot cluster Randomized Controlled Trial to evaluate several aspects of functionality of this video game, student engagement and behavior, classroom climate, the feasibility of the implementation of the study and to explore the impact of the video game on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills.

It is expected to recruit eight schools with at least one pre-kindergarten class, with an average of 30 students per class. Schools will be randomly allocated to intervention and control groups in a ratio of 1:1. The control group will receive their usual curricular activities. Meanwhile, the students in the intervention group will play the ten 30-minute video game sessions supervised by preschool teachers and research assistants. The frequency of sessions is expected to be twice a week for 5 weeks. Both groups will be evaluated at the beginning and after implementing Japi 1.0. The assessment will include the direct in-person measurement of working memory, behavioral inhibition, emotion recognition, and social problem-solving skills among children and evaluating children's emotional and behavioral problems rated by parents or caregivers. As the primary outcomes of this study are the evaluation of the functionality of this video game, student engagement, and behavior during playing, classroom climate, and the feasibility of the implementation of the study, the research team has developed quantitative and qualitative measures to collect this data.

Conditions

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Mental Health Issue Development, Child Cognitive Ability, General

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Intervention versus Treatment as Usual
Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors
Statistician was blinded to the group allocation

Study Groups

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Japi 1.0 Intervention

Video game of 10 sessions with activities stimulating cognitive (working memory and inhibitory control) and non-cognitve (emotion recognition and social competence) skills. Children will play with the game two times a week, each lasting 30 minutes, over 5 weeks. Sessions numbers 1 to 5 were focused on emotional recognition and inhibitory control. Sessions numbers 6 to 10 worked on working memory and social competence. Each session had eight activities and five tasks per activity with increasing difficulty levels.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Japi 1.0

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The intervention has ten sessions, and two sessions of 30 minutes were delivered each week for 5 weeks. Sessions numbers 1 to 5 were focused on emotional recognition and inhibitory control. Sessions numbers 6 to 10 worked on working memory and social competence. Each session had eight activities and five tasks per activity with increasing difficulty levels.

Control

The control group receives standard school curricula.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Japi 1.0

The intervention has ten sessions, and two sessions of 30 minutes were delivered each week for 5 weeks. Sessions numbers 1 to 5 were focused on emotional recognition and inhibitory control. Sessions numbers 6 to 10 worked on working memory and social competence. Each session had eight activities and five tasks per activity with increasing difficulty levels.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Schools located in Santiago (Chile).
* Schools with Preschool Education.
* Mixed-sex schools.
* Schools with high vulnerability (≥ 75%), as stated in the School Vulnerability Index - National System of Equality Allocation (IVE-SINAE). This index is the proportion of high-vulnerability students in a given school, considering socioeconomic variables such as the mother's educational level, the father's educational level, and total monthly household income, among others.


\- Children attending pre-kindergarten (aged around 4 years old).

Exclusion Criteria

* Four or more classes in Preschool. This criterion was considered for economic and practical reasons.
* Implementing a manualized program to promote cognitive or social-emotional skills.
* Participating in a similar study.


* Children with intellectual disability.
* Children unable to understand and speak Spanish
Minimum Eligible Age

4 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

6 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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King's College London

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Talca

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Universidad de los Andes, Chile

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Jorge Gaete

Full Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Jorge E Gaete, MD. PhD.

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Universidad de Los Andes

Locations

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Universidad de los Andes

Santiago, Las Condes, Chile

Site Status

Countries

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Chile

References

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Other Identifiers

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UAN 201701

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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