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STUDY PROTOCOL article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1390806
This article is part of the Research Topic The Impact of Psychological Well-Being on University Students View all 24 articles

The Effectiveness of an Exergame Intervention for College Students with Subthreshold Depression: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

Provisionally accepted
Kexin Huang Kexin Huang 1Min Li Min Li 2Simiao You Simiao You 3Yongliang Jiao Yongliang Jiao 1,3Rendong He Rendong He 1Bingyue Han Bingyue Han 1Yuhang Pu Yuhang Pu 1Yong Jia Yong Jia 1*Li Chen Li Chen 1*
  • 1 Jilin University, Changchun, Hebei Province, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
  • 3 Jilin Sport University, Changchun, Jilin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Subthreshold depression (StD) is a condition that significantly influences the mental health and quality of life of college students and increases the risk of developing major depressive disorder (MDD). Exercise therapy has been found to be effective, but may not be enjoyable for everyone. Exergames, as a form of exercise therapy, address the limitations of traditional exercise by incorporating gaming elements to make physical activity more entertaining and interactive. Currently, the Nintendo Switch is one of the most widely used exergame devices. Aims: To explore the effectiveness of a Nintendo Switch-based exergame intervention on college students with StD compared to a control group, and to analyse their perceptions of the programme. Methods: This study will employ an explanatory sequential design, starting with a quantitative evaluation using a randomized controlled trial (RCT), followed by a supplementary qualitative study. College students identified as having StD will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio into the exergame intervention group (EIG) or the control group (CG). College students in the EIG will participate in a Nintendo Switch-based exergame programme for 8 weeks, with 2-3 sessions per week, lasting 50-60 minutes each. Participant outcomes in both conditions will be assessed at pre-intervention (T0, week 0), post-intervention (T1, week 8), 1 month after the intervention (T2, week 12), and 2 months after the intervention (T3, week 16), and a generalized linear mixed model will be used for analysis. In the qualitative part, interviews will be conducted with college students with StD from the EIG at T1 to explore their experiences of receiving the intervention, and content analysis will be applied to the data collected. Discussion: Nintendo provides a user-friendly platform for college students with StD to engage in electronic gaming. Limited research has explored the mental health outcomes of interventions using this type of technology in young people with StD. If the exergame programme proves to be effective, it could offer a convenient and feasible intervention for further enhancing the psychological well-being of college students. Trial registration: This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (number: ChiCTR2300068970) on 2nd March 2023.

    Keywords: Subthreshold depression, college students, Exergame, protocol, Mixed methods intervention trial

    Received: 27 Feb 2024; Accepted: 31 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Huang, Li, You, Jiao, He, Han, Pu, Jia and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yong Jia, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, Hebei Province, China
    Li Chen, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, Hebei Province, China

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