Using Games to Promote Healthy Behavior in Children: A Narrative Review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Games are a fairly effective method to overcome public health problems, especially in children. AIM: This study aims to review the use of games to promote healthy behavior in children. METHODS: The method used is to search for literature published in PubMed in 2017–2021. Search using the keywords: Games, intervention, children, health, and behavior. Based on the search, 452 articles were found. Then, the articles are selected based on inclusion criteria, which are open-access articles, original research, and addressing behavioral problems related to public health. RESULTS: Based on the inclusion criteria, 18 articles were selected to be analyzed. The 18 articles discussed the use of games to overcome health behavior problems in children. In detail, there are three articles on mental health, eight articles on nutritional behavior, four articles on physical and sedentary activity, one article on dental health, and two articles on hand washing practices. CONCLUSION: The game method is mostly used to shape nutritional behavior. There are still few articles that discuss clean living behaviors, such as waste management. So that research is needed that looks at the effectiveness of the game method to shape waste management behavior in children.