“The Heart Game”: Using Gamification as Part of a Telerehabilitation Program for Heart Patients

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this article is to describe the development and testing of a prototype application (“The Heart Game”) using gamification principles to assist heart patients in their telerehabilitation process in the Teledialog project.Materials and Methods: A prototype game was developed via user-driven innovation and tested on 10 patients 48–89 years of age and their relatives for a period of 2 weeks. The application consisted of a series of daily challenges given to the patients and relatives and was based on several gamification principles. A triangulation of data collection techniques (interviews, participant observations, focus group interviews, and workshop) was used. Interviews with three healthcare professionals and 10 patients were carried out over a period of 2 weeks in order to evaluate the use of the prototype.Results: The heart patients reported the application to be a useful tool as a part of their telerehabilitation process in everyday life. Gamification and gameful design principles such as leaderboards, relationships, and achievements engaged the patients and relatives. The inclusion of a close relative in the game motivated the patients to perform rehabilitation activities.Conclusions: “The Heart Game” concept presents a new way to motivate heart patients by using technology as a social and active approach to telerehabilitation. The findings show the potential of using gamification for heart patients as part of a telerehabilitation program. The evaluation indicated that the inclusion of the patient's spouse in the rehabilitation activities could be an effective strategy. A major challenge in using gamification for heart patients is avoiding a sense of defeat while still adjusting the level of difficulty to the individual patient.

Interactive Digital e-Health Game for Heart Failure Self-Management: A Feasibility Study

“…27,28 One of those studies evaluated a game for hypertension management, finding no significant difference in blood pressure reduction between control and intervention groups. 27 However, blood pressure reduction within the intervention group was found to be statistically and clinically significant over time.…”

“…In the other study, a serious game-The Heart Game-was developed to assist heart patients in telerehabilitation, incorporating gamification principles such as competition, the use of leaderboards, and the inclusion of a close relative. 28 Participants in that study reported that the game motivated them to engage in their daily cardiac rehabilitation activities. Both of these studies, along with ours, suggest that serious digital games offer a promising approach to health management for patients with cardiac diseases.…”

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