Table 6.
Subgroup analyses of independence in day-to-day activities as assessed by the Barthel Index or modified Barthel Index.
| 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) | 6 [34,41,46,54,57,67]; NVRa group=96, Ncontrol group=94 | 0.38 (−0.24 to 1.00) | .23 | .33 | ||||
|
|
Older (≥60.36) | 5 [10,36,37,48,65]; NVR group=128, Ncontrol group=127 | 0.04 (−0.25 to 0.33) | .80 | .33 | ||||
| Stroke recovery stage | |||||||||
|
|
Subacute stroke | 8 [10,34,36,37,41,46,57,65]; NVR group=169, Ncontrol group=165 | 0.19 (−0.22 to 0.60) | .36 | .97 | ||||
|
|
Chronic stroke | 3 [48,54,67]; NVR group=55, Ncontrol group=56 | 0.17 (−0.73 to 1.08) | .71 | .97 | ||||
| Type of VR program | |||||||||
|
|
Specialized program designed for rehabilitation | 7 [34,41,46,48,54,57,65]; NVR group=101, Ncontrol group=99 | 0.18 (−0.36 to 0.72) | .52 | .93 | ||||
|
|
Commercial game | 4 [10,36,37,67]; NVR group=123, Ncontrol group=122 | 0.21 (−0.31 to 0.74) | .43 | .93 | ||||
| Therapy delivery format | |||||||||
|
|
VR-supported exercise therapy alone compared with conventional therapy | 3 [34,37,48]; NVR group=43, Ncontrol group=43 | 0.23 (−1.04 to 1.49) | .73 | .96 | ||||
|
|
VR-supported exercise therapy+conventional therapy compared with conventional therapy | 8 [10,36,41,46,54,57,65,67]; NVR group=181, Ncontrol group=178 | 0.19 (−0.15 to 0.52) | .27 | .96 | ||||
| Similarity of intervention duration between groups | |||||||||
|
|
Same intervention duration in both VR and control groups | 7 [10,34,37,41,48,54,65]; NVR group=160, Ncontrol group=159 | 0.10 (−0.38 to 0.58) | .69 | .72 | ||||
|
|
Longer intervention duration in VR groups | 2 [46,57]; NVR group=22, Ncontrol group=20 | 0.24 (−0.37 to 0.85) | .45 | .72 | ||||
| Intervention duration in VR groups (hours) | |||||||||
|
|
≤15 | 5 [34,37,41,48,57]; NVR group=64, Ncontrol group=61 | 0.06 (−0.80 to 0.91) | .90 | .69 | ||||
|
|
>15 | 3 [46,54,65]; NVR group=47, Ncontrol group=48 | 0.25 (−0.16 to 0.66) | .23 | .69 | ||||
| Trial length | |||||||||
|
|
2 weeks to 1 month | 9 [10,34,36,37,41,46,54,57,65]; NVR group=181, Ncontrol group=178 | 0.17 (−0.20 to 0.54) | .37 | .91 | ||||
|
|
>1 and ≤2 months | 2 [48,67]; NVR group=43, Ncontrol group=43 | 0.26 (−1.15 to 1.66) | .72 | .91 | ||||
aVR: virtual reality.