A Medical Serious Games Framework Hierarchy for Validity

Meta-analyses or critical reviews in medical research concerning serious games focus on outcome measures like for example daily pain. They however do not take into account the effectiveness of the serious game in relation to the constructs used in the design of the game. This is a possible explanation why there is a vast heterogeneity in results of serious games research in the medical profession, but maybe also for the relatively poor results of serious games in health care. A comprehensive hierarchy for validity in serious games research in health care is proposed where concepts as content validity, concurrent validity and predictive validity are addressed. This can aid researchers in inclusion or exclusion of serious games articles in meta-analyses or critical reviews.