V-Engage intervention development

Role: Project co-investigator (lead: Abi Fisher, UCL)

Funder: Medical Research Council (MRC), Public Health Intervention Development (PHIND) scheme

Dates: September 2018 to March 2019

Background

Regular physical activity (PA) is important for good health. Adolescence (13-19 years) is a key developmental stage for PA intervention. However, the majority of UK adolescents are insufficiently active and there is an urgent need for high quality interventions to promote PA in adolescents. This project aimed to work with an industry partner and other key stakeholders to develop a theory-driven virtual reality (VR) 'exergame' designed to promote PA in adolescents.

What did we do?

MRC guidance on the development and evaluation of complex interventions was used to develop the VR exergame. The evidence-base was generated through multiple methods: literature review (to identify behavioural determinants of adolescent physical activity), a cross-sectional survey of 511 adolescents recruited from two London schools (to understand adolescent PA behaviour, beliefs about and desire to change PA, and to identify which BCTs they would like to see in a digital intervention), follow-up interviews with 31 adolescents (to explore their interest in VR, views about VR as a way to encourage activity, potential barriers, and which features they would like to see in a VR game) and 13 of their parents (to understand their feelings about using VR as a way to encourage adolescent PA), an inductive thematic analysis of 498 public reviews of VR exergames posted on the top 3 VR marketplaces (to investigate game features that were particularly enjoyed or disliked in VR exergames), and a survey of 5343 users of 'Zombies, Run!' (a popular an immersive audio augmented reality mobile app) plus 30 follow-up interviews (to understand what appealed to the users of popular and widely used exergames and their potential impact on PA behaviour).

What did we develop?

We developed a protype VR intervention called 'Walls' where the player uses the VR controllers to complete complex patterns that appear on walls by moving their arms and body. Accuracy and speed of completion earn players high scores. User-testing of the prototype

Next steps

Significant development work is required for the game to be at the stage where it is ready to trial. The team hope to collaborate further to develop the game to a higher specification. Additional ideas include linking the game to external components (eg, smartphone phone tracking), and to real-world opportunities for PA (eg, schools and community or leisure centres).

Publications

Farič, N., Smith, L., Potts, H., Newby, K., Steptoe, A., Fisher, A. (2021). A virtual reality exergame to engage adolescents in physical activity: Mixed methods study describing the formative intervention development process. JMIR. 23 (2), e18161, doi:10.2196/18161.

McMichael, L., Farič, N., Newby, K., Potts, H., Hon, A., Smith, L., Steptoe, A., Fisher, A. (2020). Physical activity, gaming and virtual reality: the views of parents of adolescents. JMIR Serious Games, 8 (3), e14920 doi: 10.2196/14920.

Farič, N., Potts, H., Hon, A., Smith, L., Newby, K., Steptoe, A., Fisher, A. (2019). What do players of virtual reality exercise games want? A thematic analysis of online reviews of virtual reality exergames. JMIR, 21(9), e13833. doi:10.2196/13833.

Farič, N., Yorke, E., Varnes, L., Newby, K., Potts, H., Smith, L., Hon, A., Steptoe, A., Fisher, A. (2019). Younger adolescents’ perceptions of physical activity, exergaming and virtual reality: qualitative intervention development study. JMIR Serious Games, 17 (2):e11960. doi:10.2196/11960.

Image of the 'Walls' prototype VR exergame