The Use of Smartphone Serious Gaming Apps in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: Observational Study on Feasibility and Acceptability
Authors: Schilt Thelma , Ruijter Elvira Sharine , Godeschalk Nikky , van Haaster Marit , Goudriaan Anna E 
Published: September 2022

Background

Addiction is a worldwide problem with major health complications. Despite intensive treatment, relapse rates remain high. The prevalence of cognitive impairment is high in patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) and is associated with treatment dropout and relapse. Evidence indicates that cognitive function training in persons with SUDs may support treatment. Therefore, the use of web-based tools to test and train cognitive functions is of increasing interest.

Objective

The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a serious gaming smartphone app to test and train cognitive functions in addition to the treatment of SUDs.

Methods

A prospective observational study was conducted with 229 patients seeking addiction treatment. The patients were offered 2 smartphone apps in addition to regular care: MyCognition Quotient (MyCQ) assessed cognitive functions and AquaSnap trained these functions. The feasibility was determined based on acceptance rates. The acceptability of the smartphone apps was qualitatively analyzed based on the answers to a questionnaire. Patient characteristics were compared between patients who played and did not play smartphone games. Explorative correlation analyses were performed between the playing time and cognitive assessment scores.

Results

Of the 229 patients who were offered the apps, 110 completed the MyCQ assessment, and 59 started playing AquaSnap, yielding acceptance rates of 48.0% and 25.8%, respectively. The group that completed the MyCQ assessment was significantly more educated than the group that did not download the apps (χ22=7.3; P=.03). The education level did not differ significantly between the group that played AquaSnap and the group that did not (P=.06). There were relatively more women in the AquaSnap playing group than in the nonplaying group (χ21=6.5; P=.01). The groups did not differ in terms of age, substance use, treatment setting, mood, or quality of life. With respect to acceptability, 83% (38/46) of the patients who filled out the questionnaire enjoyed taking the MyCQ measurement, whereas 41% (14/34) enjoyed playing the AquaSnap game. Furthermore, 76% (35/46) and 68% (23/34) rated the apps MyCQ and AquaSnap, respectively, as easy. More playing minutes was associated with decreased working memory reaction time and executive functioning accuracy.

Conclusions

Our study showed that the use of a smartphone app for cognitive assessment in patients with SUDs who are interested and highly educated is feasible and acceptable for the subgroup that was asked to fill out a perception questionnaire. However, the use of a smartphone app for cognitive training was less feasible for this group of patients. Improvement of the training application and enhancement of the motivation of clients are needed. Despite these limitations, the present results provide support for future research investigating the use of smartphone apps for cognitive assessment and training in relation to the treatment of SUDs.