June 09, 2009
Games In Healthcare
The Fifth Annual Games for Health Conference will be held this week in Boston, MA. The conference will focus on the ways that videogames intersect with health and healthcare. The conference was started by the Games for Health Project in 2004 to gather together researchers, developers, health professionals and related stakeholders to share ideas, demos, and research concerning the use of videogames and their related technologies for use in health and healthcare.
Games for health have existed in several forms for quite some time. Many pioneers have achieved some success and the current generation of games and game consoles has seen an explosion in active games now used for fitness and some innovative efforts in physical therapy. The field of cognitive fitness and therapy with games is also booming. Many new pieces of science and new products are now entering the market to address developments in cognitive fitness and therapy. However, like the physical exergame field, the field of cognitive fitness is also having to sort out its science, impact gaps and sustainability.
The future of games for health goes way beyond just exergames, physical therapy, and cognitive fitness. The opportunities for games for health are broad. This year’s conference features a multitude of talks on related uses of games for epidemiology, multiple sclerosis, training, public health messaging, nutrition, child development and more.
Games are now considered Health 3.0 - where the idea of information therapy moves beyond textual based relationships. One of the things that will make games in healthcare different is already being seen. It is the notion that the mere act of playing creates a behavioral change as a byproduct of their consumption. Games bring traits to Health 2.0, and can take things to the next level by potentially improving motivation, enabling deeper emotional impact, and providing visualization and social experiences.
This year at Games for Health 2009 there are four key themes:
1. The heritage of games for health with talks from early pioneers in games for health, and prior art in games that covered health themes.
2. The current impact and research behind the two biggest first movers in games for health: exergaming, and cognitive health, with tracks devoted to each segment.
3. The impact gap between the potential reach of games for health and the actual impact it is or is not having due to the current structure of the field and the games themselves.
4. The future of the field at its broadest horizons and what can be done to see success in as many areas as possible.
Health touches many parts of life. Videogames are a medium we’re just beginning to understand as being very broad based.
Games for Health Website
Press releases
Article: Why Games Matter in Healthcare
The Serious Game Initiative