Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The emergence of the novel coronavirus COVID has introduced additional pressures on an already fragile mental health care system due to a significant rise in depression, anxiety, and stress among Canadians.
Although cognitive behavioral therapy CBT is known to be an efficacious treatment to reduce such mental health issues, few people have access to CBT in an engaging and sustainable manner. We here present the conceptualization and design of new self-care modules in the form of a video game, its implementation in a technological infrastructure, and inclusivity and privacy considerations that informed the development.
The usability study was informed by a mixed methods sequential explanatory design to evaluate the intervention of the mobile app through two distinct phases: quantitative data collection using in-app analytics data and two surveys, followed by qualitative data collection by semistructured interviews. A total of 32 participants trialed the app for 2 weeks. Qualitative interviews helped participants identify numerous functionality issues and provided specific recommendations, most of which were successfully integrated into the video game for future release.
Through this collaboration, we have established that it is possible to incorporate CBT exercises into a video game and have these exercises adopted to address stress. While video games are a promising strategy to help people with their stress and anxiety, there is a further need to examine the real-world effectiveness of the Legend of Evelys in reducing anxiety. Keywords: video games, cognitive behavioral therapy, usability study, self-care, digital health, technological infrastructure, video game development, user engagement, user perception, COVID, Mental health, mental health care system, depression, anxiety, digital therapy.
Stress levels and anxiety are elevated at a population level during crises. The impact of COVID being declared a pandemic predictably had a negative effect on the mental health of many Canadians. Researchers worldwide have shown that the mental health of the general population has deteriorated since the onset of the pandemic, with significant rises in depression, anxiety, and stress [ 1 - 3 ].
