Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07148609

Video Game-facilitated Group Activity for Quality of Life and Social Function in Chronic Schizophrenia Inpatients.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if video game-facilitated group activity helps to improve the quality of life and social function in inpatients with chronic schizophrenia.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does video game-facilitated group activity enhance the quality of life as measured by a standardized scale (WHOQOL) in patients with schizophrenia hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital? * Can video game-facilitated group activity promote social function as measured by a specific scale (PSP) in patients with schizophrenia hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital?

Researchers will compare video game-facilitated group activity to regular occupational therapy to see if the intervention is beneficial to patients with chronic schizophrenia.

Participants will:

* Attend to video game-facilitated group activity or regular occupational therapy three times a week for 12 weeks. * Receive assessments upon and after the 12-week intervention, and another 12 weeks after the intervention ends.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Schizophrenia Patients Behavior Mental Disorders Schizophrenia Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders Social Adjustment Social Behavior

Age range

20 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Tsao-Tun Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare

Nantou City, Taiwan, 54249

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Individuals aged between >18 and <65 years with a principal diagnosis of schizophrenia, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes F20.0-F20.9 which was diagnosed according to DSM-5-TR criteria.
  • Possessing a valid Catastrophic Illness Certificate for schizophrenia and being continuously hospitalized for more than six months.
  • Being able to read Chinese and communicate effectively in either Mandarin or Taiwanese.
  • Being able to comprehend the purpose of the study and to provide written informed consent after the study has been explained by the researchers.

Exclusion criteria

  • Individuals exhibiting unstable psychiatric or consciousness conditions, or those unable to comply with video game-based instruction and operation.
  • Individuals with a history of ocular diseases, severe cardiovascular disorders, epilepsy, or brain injuries; or those who have experienced acute cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events, bone fractures, undergone hip or knee joint replacement, or present with lower limb balance impairments or structural injuries-such as amputations, post-lumbar surgery status, or acute ankle sprains-rendering participation unsuitable within the past six months.
  • Concurrent participation in other research studies during the study period, where the intervention may potentially influence the primary or secondary outcomes of this study.
  • Individuals who are legally declared under guardianship.

Treatment and study plan

Video game-facilitated group activity

Behavioral

The intervention is a 12-week group activity program for each participant in the intervention group, and the program consists of three 50-minute video game facilitated group activity sessions per week. Participants in the intervention group will engage in those group activity session which will be mediated by the game of Super Mario Party on Nintendo Switch.

Primary outcomes

  1. The changes of quality of life

    Time frame: The outcome will be assessed at baseline, week 12, and week 24.

    The changes of quality of life will be assessed by the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF).

  2. The changes of social function.

    Time frame: The outcome will be assessed at baseline, week 12, and week 24

    The changes of social function will be evaluated by the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP).

Secondary outcomes

  1. The changes of cerebral blood flow.

    Time frame: The outcome will be assessed at baseline and week 12.

    The changes in cerebral blood be measured by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS).

  2. The change of cognitive function.

    Time frame: The outcome will be assessed at baseline and week 12.

    The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) will be used to evaluate changes in cognitive function.

  3. The change of psychiatric symptoms.

    Time frame: The outcome will be assessed at baseline and week 12.

    The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) will be used to assess changes in positive and negative psychiatric symptoms.

  4. The change of physical fitness

    Time frame: The outcome will be assessed at baseline and week 12.

    Physical fitness assessments will be conducted to measure changes in participants' physical fitness levels, including cardiopulmonary endurance, the strength and flexibility of upper and lower limbs, as well as dynamic and static balance.

    • The cardiopulmonary endurance would be measured by 6-minute walk test and march-in-place test.
    • The upper limbs strength will be measured by arm curl test and hand grip strength test.
    • The lower limbs strength will be measured by 30-second chair stand test.
    • The upper limbs flexibility will be measured by back scratch test.
    • The lower limbs flexibility will be measured by chair sit-and-reach test.
    • The dynamic balance test will be measured by chair stand and obstacle walk test.
    • The static balance test will be measured by one-leg stand test with eyes open.

Other outcomes

  1. Demographic data

    Time frame: Demographic data will be assessed at baseline.

    Demographic data including age, sex, marital status, educational year, body mass index, past medical and allergic history, and other information related with this study will be assessed by research assistants.

  2. The change of daily antipsychotic dose equivalences.

    Time frame: This outcome will be assessed at the baseline, Week 12, and Week 24.

    The dosage of antipsychotic medications of the participants will be calculated according to their usage of antipsychotic medications that are equivalent to 100 mg/day of chlorpromazine. The daily antipsychotic dose equivalences will be calculated by the average of the daily dose equivalences in the weeks that are scheduled to be assessed.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

TsaoTun Psychiatric Center, Department of Health, Taiwan

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Video Game-facilitated Group Activity for Quality of Life and Social Function in Chronic Schizophrenia Inpatients: A Randomized Controlled Parallel-group Pilot Trial.

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Aug 29, 2025
Registry last updated
Aug 29, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.