A systematic review of interactive multimedia interventions to promote children’s communication with health professionals: implications for communicating with overweight children

Table 5 Intervention and comparison group characteristics

Criterion	Category	No. of studies	And references
MI type	Nintendo® game console	1	[70]
	CD-ROM	9	[6, 8, 9, 66–69, 72, 74]
	Web-based	4	[7, 65, 71, 73]
MI group information formats¹	Multimedia only	13	[6, 8, 9, 65–74]
	Multimedia + written information	1	[7]
Comparison group	None§*	7	[65, 67, 70–74]
information formats¹	Written information, e.g. leaflets*	5	[6–8, 66, 69]
	Conventional aids, i.e. dental models, radiographs*	1	[9]
	Not reported	1	[68]
Intervention setting	Outpatient clinic	6	[6, 7, 9, 66, 67, 74]
	During hospitalisation	1	[65]
	At home	6	[8, 69–73]
	At school (school nurse office)	1	[68]
Time MI used	< 60 minutes	2	[9, 74]
	1–2 hours	4	[7, 8, 65, 71]
	≥ 2 hours	4	[66, 70, 72, 73]
	Unclear	2	[67, 69]
	Not reported	2	[6, 68]
Intervention length	< 6 months	7	[6, 9, 65, 69, 71, 72, 74]
	≥ 6 months	7	[7, 8, 66–68, 70, 73]
Follow-up	None	10	[7–9, 65–67, 69–71, 74]
(post-intervention)	< 6 months	1	[72]
	≥ 6 months	3	[6, 68, 73]

*Redsell, et al.[6], Eckler [9] and Runge, et al.[73] included more than one comparison group–the wait-list groups (receiving no treatment) were disregarded for the purpose of this review. Comparison group children in the study by Homer, et al.[66] were given an asthma book and played a non-health-related computer game.
^§Brown, et al.[70] provided a non-health-related Nintendo® game to children in the comparison group.
¹in addition to verbal treatment.

ISSN: 1472-6947