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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 3
| Issue : 1 | Page : 43-44 |
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Serious games for health, well-being, and medical applications
Pamela M Kato
School of Computing, Electronics and Mathematics; Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing, Coventry University, United Kingdom
| Date of Web Publication | 19-Jun-2017 |
Correspondence Address:
Pamela M Kato
Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Mathematics, Coventry University, Puma Way, CV1 2TL
United Kingdom
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/digm.digm_53_16
How to cite this article:
Kato PM. Serious games for health, well-being, and medical applications. Digit Med 2017;3:43-4 |
Dear Editor,
I am pleased to learn of the establishment of the European Chapter of the International Society of Digital Medicine (ISDM) and to have the opportunity to share expertise, insights, visions and experiences with global practitioners, scientists and professionals using digital technologies for medicine, health, and well-being with this community. Access to respected publications such as Digital Medicine for high-quality articles, reviews, and commentaries that cross both geographical and disciplinary boundaries should help advance the potential of modern disruptive technologies for the improvement of medical science and practice for improved global health and well-being.
Our view of future trends in digital medicine envisages a growing evidence base of scientific investigations of technologies that leverage gaming technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, biosensors and haptic devices, with high-quality content driven by game design approaches that engage users for more impactful learning, education, and therapeutic outcomes.[1],[2],[3],[4]Digital Medicine offers our community the opportunity to publish and share our work on serious games for health in collaborative FP7 and Horizon2020 European projects such as PEGASO [5] and PERGAMON [6] in a high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journal.
Successful application of serious games in digital medicine will require cooperation among diverse disciplines to create engaging, user-friendly, and empirically validated content and technologies.[7] Although there are challenges to find support for these complex collaborations, experts recommend proposing serious games in digital health innovations that apply high standards of scientific rigor to clearly substantiated aims aligned with the aims of funding bodies and promote international collaboration where possible.[8] These efforts also need to be aware that approaches to engagement and motivation used by commercial games, may not always successful transfer to effective outcomes when applied in the health domain.[9] Game approaches can also be of concern as possible sources of influence that may even undermine the scientific and clinical value of these efforts.[10] For example, using a game approach to assess the physical activity levels may not be a valid indicator of “normal” physical activity levels of an individual if the game components impact motivation and engagement in physical activity. These risks can be addressed through collaborations with experts in various disciplines concerned with developing safe, reliable, valid, and efficacious serious games applications in digital health.[1],[7],[11]
We look forward to submitting articles, reviews, and position papers over the coming months to share our expertise with other European and Global ISDM members.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish the European Chapter of ISDM every success and to express our willingness to collaborate in future activities related to digital medicine.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Kato PM. Evaluating efficacy and validating games for health. Games Health J 2012;1:74-6.  [ PUBMED] |
| 2. | Kato PM. Video games in health care: Closing the gap. Rev Gen Psychol 2010;14:113-21. |
| 3. | Bauman EB, Kato PM, Lara M. Seeking research opportunities in virtual and game-based environments. In: Bauman E, editor. Simulation and Game-based Teaching in Nursing and Healthcare. New York: Springer Publishing Company; 2012. p. 205. |
| 4. | Choi W, Dyens O, Chan T, Schijven M, Lajoie S, Mancini ME, et al. Engagement and learning in simulation: recommendations of the Simnovate Engaged Learning Domain Group. BMJ Simulation and Technology Enhanced Learning 2017;3(Suppl 1):S23-32. |
| 5. | Dunwell I, Dixon R, Bul KC, Hendrix M, Kato PM, Ascolese A. Translating open data to educational minigames. In 11th International Workshop on Semantic and Social Media Adaptation and Personalization (SMAP), Thessaloniki, Greece: IEEE; 2016. p. 145-50. |
| 6. | Klaassen R, den Akker R, Di Bitonto P, van der Burg GJ, Bul K, Kato PM. PERGAMON: A Serious Gaming and Digital Coaching Platform Supporting Patients and Healthcare Professionals. In: International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems/International Conference on Project Management/International Conference on Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies, CENTERIS/ProjMAN/HCist. Porto, Portugal: SciKA; 2016. |
| 7. | Kato PM. The role of the researcher in making serious games for health. In: Arnab S, Dunwell I, Debattista K, editors. Serious Games for Healthcare: Applications and Implications. Hershey, PA: IGI Global; 2012. p. 213. [ PUBMED] |
| 8. | Baranowski T, Blumberg F, Gao Z, Kato PM, Kok G, Lu AS, et al. Getting research on games for health funded. Games Health J 2017;6:1-8. [ PUBMED] |
| 9. | Baranowski MT, Lieberman PD, Buday R, Peng W, Zimmerli L, Wiederhold B, et al. Videogame mechanics in games for health. Games Health J 2013;2:194-204. |
| 10. | Lumsden J, Edwards EA, Lawrence NS, Coyle D, Munafò MR. Gamification of cognitive assessment and cognitive training: A systematic review of applications and efficacy. JMIR Serious Games 2016;4:e11. |
| 11. | Shute VJ, Leighton JP, Jang EE, Chu MW. Advances in the science of assessment. Educ Assess 2016;21:34-59. |
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