Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Sep 8;18(9):e0291298.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291298. eCollection 2023.

A digital health game to prevent opioid misuse and promote mental health in adolescents in school-based health settings: Protocol for the PlaySmart game randomized controlled trial

Tyra M Pendergrass Boomer  1 , Lily A Hoerner  1 , Claudia-Santi F Fernandes  1   2   3 , Amber Maslar  4 , Sherry Aiudi  5 , Tassos C Kyriakides  5 , Lynn E Fiellin  1   2   6
Affiliations

A digital health game to prevent opioid misuse and promote mental health in adolescents in school-based health settings: Protocol for the PlaySmart game randomized controlled trial

Tyra M Pendergrass Boomer et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Adolescents who engage in non-opioid substance misuse and/or experience mental health symptoms are at greater risk of misusing opioids and/or developing opioid use disorder. Adolescence is a critical developmental period to both prevent the initiation of opioid misuse and target mental health. To date, there are no digital health games targeting both conditions. We describe the protocol for a randomized controlled trial designed to assess the efficacy of an original digital health game, PlaySmart. Five hundred and thirty-two adolescents aged 16-19 years old, who are at greater risk for initiating opioid misuse are recruited from 10 Connecticut school-based health sites. Participants are randomized to PlaySmart or a set of time/attention control videogames. Randomization was stratified by sex at birth and school grade. Participants play their assigned game or games for up to six weeks (300 minutes) and complete assessment questions over a 12-month period (baseline, post-gameplay, 3, 6, and 12 months). The primary outcome is perception of risk of harm of opioid misuse at 3 months. Secondary outcome measures specific to opioid misuse include intentions, self-efficacy, attitudes, knowledge, and perceived norms. Mental health outcomes include measures of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-8), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), help-seeking behaviors, stigma, measures of self-regulation, self-efficacy to seek professional help for mental health, and knowledge around coping skills. PlaySmart has the potential to significantly reduce the risk of initiation of opioid misuse, improve mental health outcomes, and given its high levels of engagement and accessibility, holds the promise for extensive reach, scale, and impact for adolescents. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04941950. Registered on 23 June 2021.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

I have read the journal’s policy on and the author LE has the following competing interest: LF is the founder and equity holder of a spin-out company of the play2PREVENT lab called Playbl, that focuses on the distribution of our videogame interventions.This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The study timeline, an adaptation of the SPIRIT figure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Health; US Department of Health and Human Services [Internet]. [cited 2022 Sep 16]. Prescription Opioids DrugFacts. Available from: https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/prescription-opioids
    1. Merica D. Trump declares opioid epidemic a national public health emergency. CNN Politics. 2017. Oct 26. [Cited 2022 Sep 16]. Available from: https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/26/politics/donald-trump-opioid-epidemic/ind...
    1. Rosenblum A, Marsch LA, Joseph H, Portenoy RK. Opioids and the Treatment of Chronic Pain: Controversies, Current Status, and Future Directions. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2008. Oct;16(5):405–16. doi: 10.1037/a0013628 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hadland SE, Wharam JF, Schuster MA, Zhang F, Samet JH, Larochelle MR. Trends in Receipt of Buprenorphine and Naltrexone for Opioid Use Disorder Among Adolescents and Young Adults, 2001–2014. JAMA Pediatrics. 2017. Aug 1;171(8):747–55. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.0745 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2018. Sep;Rockville, MD.

Publication types

Substances

Associated data