Design of Somatosensory Interactive Balance Training Exergame for the Elderly Based on Tai Chi

Zhang, Yahui; Han, Ting; Ding, Yi; Zhao, Sheng

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-05654-3_21

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Serious health games are defined as digital games that focus on impacting health (Adams, 2010), and have been used in a variety of ways to affect health, such as educating about health topics, promoting lifestyle change, supporting self‐management of chronic diseases, and rehabilitation. Mounting evidence supports a positive impact across diverse populations (Li, Theng, & Foo, 2014; Sanchez et al, 2019; Staiano & Flynn, 2014; Zhang et al, 2022). In addition to potential health‐related benefits, serious health games may have benefits based on their focus on fun, engagement, and social interaction (Li et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Health Games for Older Adults: Development, Implementation, and Programmatic Implications of Health Game Use in Senior Centers

Orsega‐Smith,

Ruggiero,

Getchell

et al. 2023

Journal of Elder Policy

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By 2030, an estimated 21.6% of the U.S. population will exceed 65 years old. Within this demographic, ongoing broad efforts are needed to address modifiable factors related to common chronic conditions of aging. Digital, or "serious, " health games offer one innovative approach to reach and engage older adults, with documented positive impacts on physical, mental/cognitive, and social health. Informed by healthy aging theory and community-engaged, user-centered design methods, our multidisciplinary team has developed a prototype multicomponent educational exergame designed to educate about and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors (i.e., healthy eating, physical activity), stimulate cognitive functioning, engage movement, and promote social connection. Additionally, we included functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in our pilot work to measure real time brain activation during gameplay. Our objectives are to: 1) describe the formative development and testing process of an example multi-component educational exergame, including multidisciplinary team science collaboration, application of aging theory, and use of community-engaged and user-centered approaches; and 2) present a pilot study examining implementation and multiple aspects of an innovative educational exergame, including usability, acceptability, preliminary impact, and cognitive function measurement using brain imaging technology (fNIRS) to measure changes in cognitive load during gameplay. The results provide initial support for acceptability, usability, and positive perceived impact, as well as the preliminary encouraging pre to post improvements in behavioral intention, content knowledge, and relative neural efficiency. This paper also explores the potential of implementing serious health games in senior centers as part of their regular programming.

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