Patient-Empowerment Interactive Technologies

Bruggers, Carol S.; Altizer, Roger; Kessler, Robert R.; Caldwell, Craig; Coppersmith, Kurt; Warner, Laura A.; Davies, Brandon S.J.; Paterson, Wade; Wilcken, Jordan; D'Ambrosio, Troy; Hanson, Glen R.; Gershan, Lynn A.; Korenberg, Julie R.; Bułaj, Grzegorz

doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3004009

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Before developing the prototype Empower Stars! mobile video game, significant and essential groundwork had been laid in the process of creating an exercise–empowerment coupled video game using a PlayStation format ( 21 , 36 , 37 , 40 ). The initial of concept of coupling physical exercise and mental empowerment as a video game intervention for children with cancer stemmed from several pivotal clinical observations: (1) the incredible determination and resilience of a child and their family members, when a child is diagnosed with and undergoes treatment for cancer, (2) the significant physical and emotional deconditioning that necessarily accompanies the months of pediatric cancer treatment involving surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and its attendant adverse effects, and (3) the sense of empowerment exhibited by a child, whether young or older, when he or she overcomes a disease or treatment-related obstacle.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With these challenges and concepts in mind, we have been developing a video game technology that couples physical exercise with mental empowerment directed at simultaneous improvement of physical strength and endurance, and psychologic QOL of pediatric oncology patients ( 21 , 36 – 40 ). To this purpose, a unique multidisciplinary team comprised of university faculty and an innovative local youth media program created a cancer-specific activity-promoting mobile video game prototype called Empower Stars!…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Prototype Exercise–Empowerment Mobile Video Game for Children With Cancer, and Its Usability Assessment: Developing Digital Empowerment Interventions for Pediatric Diseases

Bruggers

Baranowski²,

Beseris³

et al. 2018

Front. Pediatr.

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BackgroundMedical advances continue to improve morbidity and mortality of serious pediatric diseases, including cancer, driving research addressing diminished physical and psychological quality of life in children with these chronic conditions. Empowerment enhances resilience and positively influences health, disease, and therapy understanding. We describe the development and usability assessment of a prototype Empower Stars! mobile video game grounded in behavioral and exercise theories with the purpose of coupling physical exercise with empowerment over disease in children with cancer.MethodsAcademic faculty, health-care providers, and community video game developers collaborated in this project. The iPadAir was selected as a delivery platform for its accelerometer and gyroscope features facilitating exercise design. Unity multiplatform technology provided animation and audiovisual features for immediate player feedback. Javascript, C#, Photoshop, Flash, and SketchUp were used for coding, creating graphical assets, Sprite sheets, and printing files, respectively. 3D-printed handles and case backing were used to adapt the iPad for physical exercise. Game usability, engagement, and enjoyment were assessed via a multilevel study of children undergoing cancer chemotherapy, their parents, and pediatric cancer health-care providers. Feedback crucial for ongoing game development was analyzed.ResultsA prototype Empower Stars! mobile video game was developed for children 7–14 years old with cancer. Active, sedentary, educational, and empowerment-centered elements intermix for 20 min of exercise within a 30 min “one-day treatment” gameplay session involving superheroes, space exploration, metaphorical cancer challenges, life restoration on a barren planet, and innumerable star rewards. No player “dies.” Usability assessment data analyses showed widespread enthusiasm for integrating exercise with empowerment over cancer and the game itself. Favorite elements included collecting star rewards and planet terraforming. Traveling in space and the Healthy Food Choice game were least liked. The need for improved gameplay instructions was expressed by all groups. The usability study provided essential feedback for converting the prototype into alpha version of Empower Stars!ConclusionAdapting exercise empowerment-promoting video game technology to mobile platforms facilitates usability and widespread dissemination for children with cancer. We discuss broader therapeutic applicability in diverse chronic pediatric diseases, including obesity, asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Prototype Exercise–Empowerment Mobile Video Game for Children With Cancer, and Its Usability Assessment: Developing Digital Empowerment Interventions for Pediatric Diseases

Bruggers

Baranowski²,

Beseris³

et al. 2018

Front. Pediatr.

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“…63 , 64 Patient- empowering videogames, such as the PE Game, offer a personalized support and improvement of disease self-management for patients of all ages with diverse chronic conditions. 65 …”

Section: Advances In Videogame Technology and Mobile Health Applicatimentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical and Neurobiological Perspectives of Empowering Pediatric Cancer Patients Using Videogames

Govender

Bowen

Bułaj

et al. 2015

Games for Health Journal

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Pediatric oncology patients often experience fatigue and physical and mental deconditioning during and following chemotherapy treatments, contributing to diminished quality of life. Patient empowerment is a core principle of patient-centered care and reflects one's ability to positively affect his or her own health behavior and health status. Empowerment interventions may enhance patients' internal locus of control, resilience, coping skills, and self-management of symptoms related to disease and therapy. Clinical and technological advancements in therapeutic videogames and mobile medical applications (mobile health) can facilitate delivery of the empowerment interventions for medical purposes. This review summarizes clinical strategies for empowering pediatric cancer patients, as well as their relationship with developing a “fighting spirit” in physical and mental health. To better understand physiological aspects of empowerment and to elucidate videogame-based intervention strategies, brain neuronal circuits and neurotransmitters during stress, fear, and resilience are also discussed. Neuroimaging studies point to the role of the reward system pathways in resilience and empowerment in patients. Taken together, videogames and mobile health applications open translational research opportunities to develop and deliver empowerment interventions to pediatric cancer patients and also to those with other chronic diseases.

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“…One such example is pediatric cancer, which is diagnosed in approximately 12,400 children and adolescents in the United States annually. The overall five-year survival rates for these patients have dramatically improved from an estimated 28% in the 1960's to over 75% currently [5]. When compared to sibling and peers, children diagnosed with cancer experience not only significant health issues but also mental challenges including fear of death, altered body image and sense of vitality, lifedisrupting pain, changes in social support, and repeated medical interventions [6].…”

Section: Figure 1 Playing Dance Dance Revolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is no obvious corollary for children diagnosed with cancer, who often times experience frequent or prolonged hospitalizations. Between cancer and recovery from cardiac surgery, each year approximately 349,500 (USA 2011) kids aged 4-12 face these challenges Family members and health care providers oftentimes have limited means to distract, entertain, or motivate them to get active [5].…”

Section: Exercise As Empowermentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The intersection of video games and patient empowerment

Caldwell

Bruggers

Altizer

et al. 2013

Proceedings of the 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death

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Video games provide new opportunities for improving patients' quality-of-life via empowerment through physical exercise and interactive feedback. This paper presents an incentive-based video game that transforms physical exercise into mental empowerment to help fight cancer via positive metaphoric visualization. This video game technology can enhance patients' resilience via mechanisms that stimulate coupling between the brain reward systems and physical actions. While the Patient Empowerment (PE) Exercise Video Game is an example of an active-player interactive game designed for pediatric cancer patients, this concept can be applied to neurological, metabolic or cardiovascular diseases.

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Patient-Empowerment Interactive Technologies

Abstract: Health-promoting videogames are emerging as nonpharmacological tools to help patients manage their diseases.

Cited by 21 publications

References 27 publications

A Prototype Exercise–Empowerment Mobile Video Game for Children With Cancer, and Its Usability Assessment: Developing Digital Empowerment Interventions for Pediatric Diseases

A Prototype Exercise–Empowerment Mobile Video Game for Children With Cancer, and Its Usability Assessment: Developing Digital Empowerment Interventions for Pediatric Diseases

Clinical and Neurobiological Perspectives of Empowering Pediatric Cancer Patients Using Videogames

The intersection of video games and patient empowerment

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