Effectiveness of virtual reality on activities of daily living in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: No meta-analysis has been conducted on the effect of specific virtual reality (VR) treatment modes on activities of daily living (ADL) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Therefore, this study aimed to confirm whether VR therapy is effective in improving ADL in children with CP according to subgroups. METHODOLOGY: Literature published in the Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), and PubMed was reviewed, and Risk of Bias 2.0 (RoB 2) was used to evaluate the quality of the literature. A funnel plot was visually observed to confirm publication bias, supplemented with Egger’s regression test. Data analysis was performed using R version 4.2.1. Subgroup analysis was performed according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), treatment minutes per week, treatment period, age, and RoB. RESULTS: Eleven of 2,978 studies were included, and the overall effect size was 0.37 (95% confidence interval = 0.17–0.57). Regarding GMFCS, effect sizes of 0.41 and 0.33 was observed for the low- and high-function groups, respectively. For MACS, 0.27 and 0.43 were observed for the low and high-function groups. Regarding treatment minutes per week, the values were 0.22, 0.44, and 0.27 in the 1–100, 101–200, and 201–300 min groups, respectively. In the classification according to age, 0.29 was observed for school-age children and 0.98 for preschool children. Lastly, in the classification according to the RoB, 0.52, −0.01, and 0.23 indicated studies with low risk, some concern, and high risk, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The highest effect was observed when VR was applied within 6 weeks of 101-200 per week. Therefore, it is suggested that if the results of this review are applied to children with cerebral palsy in the community, it will be an effective intervention method. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROPEROS (registration number CRD42023409801).