A Synthesis of Treatment Practices, Facilitations, and Barriers in Treatment of Behavioural Disorders Associated with Gaming Platforms and Excessive Internet Use in Six Countries

A 2020 meta-analysis approximated that 7% of the global population exhibits symptoms consistent with internet addictions. This prompted global attention to the issue, marked by functional impairment in various aspects of life. In 2019, gaming disorder (GD) was added to the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), providing a clearer, monothetic approach to the disorder. Building on this framework, a review for the first world health organization (WHO) meeting on problematic internet use (PIU) identified cross cultural representations in global epidemiological studies from 2000 to 2014; 14 countries submitted reviews of their approaches in 2016. Following GD recognition updates from six countries examined treatment progress from 2016-2024. This report details the various treatments practices, treatment needs, facilitators of treatment response and development as well as identified barriers to GD treatment response in these six countries, accompanied by a discussion of progress and recommendations for the future.