Digital games as an effective approach for cancer management: Opportunities and challenges

Ghazisaeidi, Marjan; Safdari, Reza; Goodini, Azadeh; Mirzaiee, Mahboobeh; Farzi, Jebraeil

doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_146_14

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…There has been considerable research on the analgesic benefits of digital playing for cancer pain (170,171), burn victims (172)(173)(174), pediatric patients (171,175) and amputees (176), albeit mostly targeting younger players. In pain management, the focus of playing such games is typically on patient education, distraction, or self-management-for example, evoking analgesia through active engagement with VR or digital games (170,171,176,177).…”

Section: Gamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Play the Pain: A Digital Strategy for Play-Oriented Research and Action

et al. 2021

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The value of understanding patients' illness experience and social contexts for advancing medicine and clinical care is widely acknowledged. However, methodologies for rigorous and inclusive data gathering and integrative analysis of biomedical, cultural, and social factors are limited. In this paper, we propose a digital strategy for large-scale qualitative health research, using play (as a state of being, a communication mode or context, and a set of imaginative, expressive, and game-like activities) as a research method for recursive learning and action planning. Our proposal builds on Gregory Bateson's cybernetic approach to knowledge production. Using chronic pain as an example, we show how pragmatic, structural and cultural constraints that define the relationship of patients to the healthcare system can give rise to conflicted messaging that impedes inclusive health research. We then review existing literature to illustrate how different types of play including games, chatbots, virtual worlds, and creative art making can contribute to research in chronic pain. Inspired by Frederick Steier's application of Bateson's theory to designing a science museum, we propose DiSPORA (Digital Strategy for Play-Oriented Research and Action), a virtual citizen science laboratory which provides a framework for delivering health information, tools for play-based experimentation, and data collection capacity, but is flexible in allowing participants to choose the mode and the extent of their interaction. Combined with other data management platforms used in epidemiological studies of neuropsychiatric illness, DiSPORA offers a tool for large-scale qualitative research, digital phenotyping, and advancing personalized medicine.

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Section: Gamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Play the Pain: A Digital Strategy for Play-Oriented Research and Action

et al. 2021

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“…This article aims to identify and analyze the ways existing game-based digital health interventions and their game mechanics that can help children with cancer. Although similar reviews [3], [4] have been done, they do not fit the aim of this review paper. The first review [3] focuses on various forms of digital interventions for adolescents and young adults with cancer, of which the majority are websites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first review [3] focuses on various forms of digital interventions for adolescents and young adults with cancer, of which the majority are websites. The second review [4] touches on digital games in cancer management. However, it is an unsystematic review article with a broad focus, including educational tools for health care professionals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey of Digital Health Interventions for Children with Cancer

Carmen

Mahmud

Märk

2020

IJSG

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Childhood cancer is the most common cause of death by illness in children globally. Fortunately, the survival rate of this deadly disease can be as high as 80% in high-income countries with cancer treatment. However, cancer treatments can result in large symptom burdens for children and adolescents. This, and many other factors can result in treatment non-adherence in cancer patients, which will strongly affect their survival rate. Therefore, it is important for interventions to be conducted in order to make the cancer experience more bearable. This survey reviews eleven existing game-based digital health interventions including Re-Mission and Ben’s Game, and lists the various aims of these interventions, such as empowerment to fight cancer and symptom management. The game mechanics of these interventions are also identified and the ways these mechanics contribute to the aims of these interventions are analyzed. Finally, limitations of existing interventions are discussed and suggestions for future works are given.

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“…Although academic interest in the role of digital play for cancer patients is not new, several aspects remain under-researched. First, most previous studies have focused on exploring structured and guided play activities designed to convey health-related information (e.g., Beale, Marín-Bowling, Guthrie, & Kato, 2006) or with therapeutic purposes such as pain relief (see Ghazisaeidi, Safdari, Goodini, Mirzaiee, & Farzi, 2017). However, little attention has been paid to the role of unstructured free digital play during cancer treatment, and the few studies that have explored it focus on free digital play activities limited only to hospital settings organized and supervised by adults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Spontaneous Digital Play during Young Patients’ Cancer Treatment

Hera

Sanz

2021

MaC

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In Europe alone, more than 120,000 children and 150,000 adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every year. Thanks to treatment innovations the survival rates of young patients’ cancer increase substantially every year, but improved prognoses are in many cases linked to longer treatments. To cope with the social, emotional, and developmental challenges associated with cancer, play and playful activities are widely recognized as fundamental for adolescents and children. This article presents the results of an exploratory study conducted to better understand the role of free digital play for young cancer patients (0–17 years). Methodology: 15 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted, divided into two groups. The first group consisted of four experts and the second group consisted of 11 parents of young cancer patients. Conversations with the participants revolved around children’s use of digital platforms during cancer treatment, emphasizing their motivations to play digitally, methods and patterns of use, perceived benefits, and impact on children’s social interactions, identity development, and personal narrative. The results show that digital play becomes a valuable activity for young cancer patients during three phases of the treatment: (1) inpatient care; (2) outpatient care; and (3) remission. We also identified three types of digital play patients engage with: (1) playing with digital games; (2) playfully interacting with digital technologies; and (3) the overlap between digital and non-digital play. Finally, the results also show that digital play has an impact on at least three aspects of young patients’ lives: (1) social interactions; (2) identity development; and (3) communication.

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Digital games as an effective approach for cancer management: Opportunities and challenges

Cited by 22 publications

References 22 publications

Play the Pain: A Digital Strategy for Play-Oriented Research and Action

Play the Pain: A Digital Strategy for Play-Oriented Research and Action

A Survey of Digital Health Interventions for Children with Cancer

The Role of Spontaneous Digital Play during Young Patients’ Cancer Treatment

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