Table 5.
Subgroup analyses of independence in day-to-day activities as assessed by the Functional Independence Measure.
| Moderating factors | Number of trials analyzed and number of participants involved | Standardized mean difference (95% CI) | Between-group difference, P value | Subgroup difference, P value | |
| Age (years) | |||||
|
|
Younger (<60.36) | 2 [44,59]; NVRa group=53, Ncontrol group=57 | 0.36 (−0.54 to 1.26) | .44 | .70 |
|
|
Older (≥60.36) | 9 [8-10,31,42,43,47,56,62]; NVR group=327, Ncontrol group=312 | 0.18 (0.02 to 0.33) | .03 | .70 |
| Stroke recovery stage | |||||
|
|
Subacute stroke | 10 [8-10,31,42-44,52,59,62]; NVR group=352, Ncontrol group=344 | 0.26 (0.05 to 0.47) | .02 | .79 |
|
|
Chronic stroke | 3 [47,52,56]; NVR group=54, Ncontrol group=51 | 0.20 (−0.19 to 0.58) | .31 | .79 |
| Type of VR program used | |||||
|
|
Specialized program designed for rehabilitation | 7 [8,9,42,43,52,56]; NVR group=246, Ncontrol group=236 | 0.28 (0.06 to 0.51) | .02 | .58 |
|
|
Commercial game | 6 [10,31,44,47,59,62]; NVR group=160, Ncontrol group=159 | 0.18 (−0.10 to 0.46) | .21 | .58 |
| Therapy delivery format | |||||
|
|
VR-supported exercise therapy alone compared with conventional therapy | 3 [8,56,59]; NVR group=109, Ncontrol group=103 | 0.27 (−0.18 to 0.73) | .23 | .86 |
|
|
VR-supported exercise therapy+conventional therapy compared with conventional therapy | 10 [9,10,31,42-44,47,52,62]; NVR group=297, Ncontrol group=292 | 0.23 (0.04 to 0.42) | .02 | .86 |
| Similarity of intervention duration between groups | |||||
|
|
Same intervention duration in both VR and control groups | 11 [8-10,42-44,52,56,59,62]; NVR group=380, Ncontrol group=372 | 0.25 (0.05 to 0.44) | .01 | .96 |
|
|
Longer intervention duration in VR groups | 2 [31,47]; NVR group=26, Ncontrol group=23 | 0.23 (−0.34 to 0.79) | .43 | .96 |
| Intervention duration in VR groups (hours) | |||||
|
|
≤15 | 3 [8,52]; NVR group=88, Ncontrol group=84 | 0.47 (−0.24 to 1.17) | .20 | .62 |
|
|
>15 | 9 [9,31,42-44,47,56,59,62]; NVR group=247, Ncontrol group=241 | 0.28 (0.10 to 0.46) | .002 | .62 |
| Trial length | |||||
|
|
2 weeks to 1 month | 11 [8-10,31,42-44,52,56,62]; NVR group=379, Ncontrol group=366 | 0.19 (0.02 to 0.35) | .03 | .14 |
|
|
>1 and ≤2 months | 1 [47]; NVR group=7, Ncontrol group=7 | 0.32 (−0.74 to 1.37) | .56 | .14 |
|
|
>2 and ≤3 months | 1 [59]; NVR group=20, Ncontrol group=22 | 0.84 (0.21 to 1.47) | .01 | .14 |
aVR: virtual reality.