Use of a serious game to strengthen medication adherence in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder following a psychoeducational programme: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Although psychoeducation programmes are the gold-standard intervention in bipolar disorder (BD), more innovative tools are needed to broaden and consolidate their effects, especially on treatment adherence. Serious games could be an option. Methods: We carried out a two-arm open randomized controlled trial to compare the add-on use of the serious game BIPOLIFE (R) for one month (n = 20) vs. treatment as usual (TAU; n = 21) following the completion of a psychoeducation programme in euthymic adults with BD. The primary outcome was the percentage of adherent patients (i.e., patients with a Medication Adherence Rating Scale, MARS, total score >7) at 4 months after the end of the psychoeducation programme. We also measured the changes in therapeutic adherence and beliefs on pharmacological treatments (Drug Attitude Inventory, DAI) between study inclusion and the 1-month (end of BIPOLIFE (R) use) and 4-month visits, healthcare use during the study period, and BIPOLIFE (R) acceptability. Results: The percentage of adherent patients was lower in the BIPOLIFE (R) group than in the TAU group at inclusion (p = 0.02). Conversely, the absolute variation of the MARS and DAI scores was higher in the BIPOLIFE (R) than in the TAU group at the 1-month visit (p = 0.03 and p = 0.002, respectively) but not at the 4-month visit (p = 0.22 and p = 0.07, respectively). Limitations: Small sample size, and low frequency of connexion to BIPOLIFE (R) declared by the patients. Conclusion: BIPOLIFE (R) may help patients with BD to increase their confidence in medications, if used regularly.