Gamification Effects on the 6-Minute Walk Test in Children

David Toupin

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Neuromuscular Diseases in Children

Treatments: Other: Gamified 6MWT; Other: Standard 6MWT

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07216339

103847

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this study is to learn if adding a game to the 6-minute walk test for children with neuromuscular disorders will increase enjoyment and motivation to complete the test.

Enrollment: 20 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 6 to 12 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Clinical diagnosis of, or active evaluation for, a neuromuscular disorder
• Able to ambulate (with or without usual orthoses/assistive device) sufficiently to attempt a 6-minute walk.
• Note: Acceptable if the patient needs to take breaks or sit during the test. Those unable to finish are counted as protocol deviations, not exclusions.
• Medically stable on the test day (no acute illness or recent surgery that would contraindicate moderate exercise).
• Child able to understand simple instructions in English and provide assent (if applicable based upon age and developmental level); parent/guardian able to provide consent in English.

Exclusion criteria

• Non-ambulatory or unsafe to attempt walking as judged by the treating physician.
• Severe cognitive/behavioral impairment that precludes following instructions.
• Acute cardiopulmonary, orthopedic, or other medical condition that makes walking unsafe on the test day.
• Non-English-speaking family (materials are available only in English for this pilot).
• Any child/parent who declines consent/assent or withdraws at any time.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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20 participants in 2 patient groups

Gamified test

Experimental group

Description:

child carries a Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag to scan at each lap, watching avatar level up.

Treatment:

Other: Gamified 6MWT

Standard test

Active Comparator group

Description:

no game; same verbal cue every minute

Treatment:

Other: Standard 6MWT