The effect of Triumf mobile health game on psychological well-being and health-related quality of life among pediatric cancer patients: A pilot study

Abstract

Children with chronic illness hold a higher risk of developing mental disorders, and psychological support may not be available to all patients. Triumf mobile solution is a gamified digital health intervention, which aims to detect, prevent and/or reduce the potential psychological problems resulting from chronic illness. The current study described the theoretical basis of Triumf intervention game and investigated the within-person effect of the intervention on psychological well-being and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Nine pediatric cancer patients aged 7-12 years participated in a 60-day intervention period with a suggested daily gameplay of ten minutes. Participants and their parents filled in Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and KIDSCREEN-52 (KS-52) before and after the intervention. Questionnaire scores were compared with in-game reported well-being, motivation and attitude scores, and intervention activity. Psychological well-being of the participants improved after the intervention period. KS-52 physical health subscale score was observed as a broad approximate instead of generic HRQoL, which also improved after the intervention period. Motivation and attitudes were not associated with participants’ well-being, HRQoL or intervention activity. The hypothesis that the intervention questions could detect similar problems as questionnaires found partial support. The results suggest that Triumf digital intervention in the form of a mobile health game could have a positive effect on the psychological well-being among pediatric cancer patient population. Future studies should seek to primarily address the intervention’s effect among other populations, and further validate the questions used in the intervention.