BackgroundSeniors need sufficient balance and strength to manage in daily life, and sufficient physical activity is required to achieve and maintain these abilities. This can be a challenge, but fun and motivational exergames can be of help. However, most commercial games are not suited for this age group for several reasons. Many usability studies and user-centered design (UCD) protocols have been developed and applied, but to the best of our knowledge none of them are focusing on seniors’ use of games for physical activity. In GameUp, a European cofunded project, some prototype Kinect exergames to enhance the mobility of seniors were developed in a user-centered approach.ObjectiveIn this paper we aim to record lessons learned in 3 years of experience with exergames for seniors, considering both the needs of older adults regarding user-centered development of exergames and participation in UCD. We also provide a UCD protocol for exergames tailored to senior needs.MethodsAn initial UCD protocol was formed based on literature of previous research outcomes. Senior users participated in UCD following the initial protocol. The users formed a steady group that met every second week for 3 years to play exergames and participate in the UCD during the 4 phases of the protocol. Several methods were applied in the 4 different phases of the UCD protocol; the most important methods were structured and semistructured interviews, observations, and group discussions.ResultsA total of 16 seniors with an average age above 80 years participated for 3 years in UCD in order to develop the GameUp exergames. As a result of the lessons learned by applying the different methodologies of the UCD protocol, we propose an adjusted UCD protocol providing explanations on how it should be applied for seniors as users. Questionnaires should be turned into semistructured and structured interviews while user consultation sessions should be repeated with the same theme to ensure that the UCD methods produce a valid outcome. By first following the initial and gradually the adjusted UCD protocol, the project resulted in exergame functionalities and interface features for seniors.ConclusionsThe main lessons learned during 3 years of experience with exergames for seniors applying UCD are that devoting time to seniors is a key element of success so that trust can be gained, communication can be established, and users’ opinions can be recorded. All different game elements should be taken into consideration during the design of exergames for seniors even if they seem obvious. Despite the limitations of this study, one might argue that it provides a best practice guide to the development of serious games for physical activity targeting seniors.

BackgroundImproving mobility in elderly persons is a primary goal in geriatric rehabilitation. Self-regulated exercises with instruction leaflets are used to increase training volume but adherence is often low. Exergames may improve adherence. This study therefore compared exergames with self-regulated exercise using instruction leaflets. The primary outcome was adherence. Secondary outcomes were enjoyment, motivation and balance during walking.MethodsDesign: single center parallel group non-blinded randomized controlled trial with central stratified randomization. Setting: center for geriatric inpatient rehabilitation. Included were patients over 65 with mobility restrictions who were able to perform self-regulated exercise. Patients were assigned to self-regulated exercise using a) exergames on Windows Kinect® (exergame group EG) or b) instruction leaflets (conventional group CG). During two 30 min sessions physical therapists instructed self-regulated exercise to be conducted twice daily during thirty minutes during ten working days. Patients reported adherence (primary outcome), enjoyment and motivation daily. Balance during walking was measured blind before and after the treatment phase with an accelerometer. Analysis was by intention to treat. Repeated measures mixed models and Cohen’s d effect sizes (ES, moderate if >0.5, large if > 0.8) with 95% CIs were used to evaluate between-group effects over time. Alpha was set at 0.05.ResultsFrom June 2014 to December 2015 217 patients were evaluated and 54 included, 26 in the EG and 28 in the CG. Adverse effects were observed in two patients in the EG who stopped because of pain during exercising. Adherence was comparable at day one (38 min. in the EG and 42 min. in the CG) and significantly higher in the CG at day 10 (54 min. in the CG while decreasing to 28 min. in the EG, p = 0.007, ES 0.94, 0.39–0.151). Benefits favoring the CG were also observed for enjoyment (p = 0.001, ES 0.88, 0.32 – 1.44) and motivation (p = 0.046, ES 0.59, 0.05–1.14)). There was no between-group effect in balance during walking.ConclusionsSelf-regulated exercise using instruction leaflets is superior to exergames regarding adherence, enjoyment and motivation in a geriatric inpatient rehabilitation setting. Effects were moderate to large. There was no between group difference in balance during walking.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02077049, 6 February 2014.

Children diagnosed with diabetes type 1 are bombarded with information and have a hard time understanding it all. Existing information material consists mostly of brochures and textbooks, giving little opportunity for testing and trial-and-error without consequences. A social platform with learning games gives the children an opportunity to experiment and find peer support, which is important for coping with a life long disease.

Children recently diagnosed with diabetes type 1 require lots of information and feel scared, alone and different. Most of the existing educational material is on paper. Games with relevant learning content are mainly small minigames in English. There is a need for more material with a focus on user needs, particularly learning-by-doing material. Peer support is known to be important for this user group. We present a concept for a social learning game that is engaging and fun for diabetic children.

Physical activity is important for all, but for the elderly balance and sufficient strength is vital to function in daily life. It can be difficult for all of us to find motivation to exercise at home, and seniors are no exception. We have experienced that exergaming can be motivational for elderly since it is fun, but most commercial games are not optimal for elderly due to speed, required movements, colours, the amount of information, etc. In a project we designed an exergame specifically with the elderly in mind based on user requirements both for specific needs for elderly, for games in general and for good exercises. A first prototype of an online 3D exergame using Kinect TM was developed and tested on a group of six seniors. Kinect TM was chosen since after our experience users in the target group can handle exergaming with this technology, and also it is possible to control that the exercises are performed correctly. Our aim was to investigate how seniors would react to a 3D first person environment before we continued the development. A user centred method was applied in the design and development, and the user test is part of that. The results are encouraging.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract