Games and Diabetes

Abstract

Here we review 18 articles that describe the design and evaluation of 1 or more games for diabetes from technical, methodological, and theoretical perspectives. We undertook searches covering the period 2010 to May 2015 in the ACM, IEEE, Journal of Medical Internet Research, Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, and Google Scholar online databases using the keywords "children," "computer games," "diabetes," "games," "type 1," and "type 2" in various Boolean combinations. The review sets out to establish, for future research, an understanding of the current landscape of digital games designed for children with diabetes. We briefly explored the use and impact of well-established learning theories in such games. The most frequently mentioned theoretical frameworks were social cognitive theory and social constructivism. Due to the limitations of the reported evaluation methodologies, little evidence was found to support the strong promise of games for diabetes. Furthermore, we could not establish a relation between design features and the game outcomes. We argue that an in-depth discussion about the extent to which learning theories could and should be manifested in the design decisions is required.

Mobile Apps for Medication Management: Review and Analysis

“…When looking at the distribution of prevalent features by different specialties, diabetes apps had the greatest variety of features. When this fact is taken into consideration alongside the advancement in engagement and gamification [40,41], MM apps for diabetes can serve as a potential innovation model for other specialties. Although only a few apps focused on mental health MM, they were some of the most comprehensive ones in terms of features and content and had the highest prevalence of the education component.…”

Gamification in Apps and Technologies for Improving Mental Health and Well-Being: Systematic Review

“…However, many instances of gamification for general health and well-being rely on positive reinforcement and extrinsic motivators [6], an approach that has been criticized [18,19]. There may be an understandable reluctance in the community to extend what is perceived to be a behaviorist implementation of gamification [20] to mental health and well-being domains.…”

Designing a Mobile Serious Game for Raising Awareness of Diabetic Children

“…The number of diabetes children exceeds 79 thousand every year (Lazem et al, 2016). They regularly visit the health centers and hospitals to undergo several assessments including blood glucose test, weight, and eyes health.…”

“…One approach for raising diabetes awareness is through educational games. These games can influence the behavior of diabetes children, improve their knowledge, and motivate them to eat healthy, and apply physical activities and self-manage their health (Brown 1997, Lazem et al, 2016. The diabetes children need to learn about the disease and adapt a new lifestyle to save their lives.…”

“…Indulgence may lead to gaining new attitudes, motivation, skills, and other factors in the health field. Video games could also be considered as a tool that raises awareness about diseases like diabetes (Lieberman, 2012, Lazem et al, 2016. Medicine has started to depend significantly on video games that represent health content.…”