The New Smart-Meds: Redesign of a Gamified App to Improve Medication Adherence Using a Mixed Methods Design (original) (raw)
Related papers
AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, 2018
Patient adherence to medications is crucial for reducing cardiovascular risk after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Although causes for low adherence are diverse, forgetfulness and lack of awareness about treatment importance are accountable for many cases. As a result, medication reminder apps have attempted to tackle this problem. In our work, we present the development of an app with gamification mechanisms to foster adherence and to support the behavior change processes of the Health Access Process Approach (HAPA) theoretical framework. To design our intervention, we relied on a user-centric approach. We listed the main factors related to high and low adherence from the Medication Adherence Reasons Scale (MAR-Scale) and identified functionalities that could address it. We focused in particular on forgetfulness, knowledge and beliefs about medication as the main barriers for adherence. We implemented a quiz and storytelling as gamification strategies to help motivate patients co...
Close2U: An App for Monitoring Cancer Patients with a Gamification System to Improve the Engagement
Proceedings
Nowadays, gamification offers several advantages in order to motivate a change in the behavior towards health and wellness. Although it is a relatively new trend, many fields have already realized its potential, and those related to health have also begun to make use of it. This paper introduces an application developed to improve patient monitoring and motivation through the use of gamification. We have applied the mechanics and dynamics of games in a non-game context, such as the introduction of data for health monitoring, in order to attract the patient. With the use of gamification, we make the introduction of data less tedious and, in addition, increase levels of motivation, as a further benefit. In this work we have conducted a user study aimed at evaluating the usability of gamification. We also studied the resources that encourage patients to use the application and how to increase their motivation and satisfaction. The results show that the app is easy to use. Second, they ...
Proceedings of the Design Society, 2021
In the last decades, mental health disorders have been a growing source of the global burden of disease. Thousands of mental health apps are available nowadays addressing this problem, but studies show that the effectiveness of these apps is jeopardized by the low user engagement. This study investigates the most potentially effective gamification and nudging techniques in design for improving engagement in mental health apps for young people, by carrying out app-reviews for top installed mental health apps on Google play store and connecting it with engagement data, in addition to conducting expert-interviews with professionals from gamification and design background. From the findings, techniques that participated in improving retention rates included using app character for creating app narrative and user interaction, in addition to adopting a non-forcible language. While to improve app daily duration of use, simplification nudge, and stating the recommended minutes of use found to be useful. Personalization and social interaction techniques were potentially effective for improving the frequency of app daily use. For the young age group, using juicy feedback and high-quality gamification were recommended
Telematics and Informatics, 2019
The lack of engagement throughout a patient's treatment is a regular concern among health professionals, who have been adopting technology as a motivational factor. This study presents a gamification proposition that aims to promote engagement in the user's treatment with the use of health-related systems. Seven stages compose the method: inspection of system requirements and its functionalities; mapping of the target audience characteristics; identification of interaction flows; gamification analysis applied in similar systems; selection of gamification elements; development; and evaluation. To validate the method, we developed two versions of an m-Health application, one with the game elements and one without these elements. In the evaluation stage, 14 patients with hypertension were divided into four groups to verify if the inclusion of game elements would promote greater engagement in health care. Data collection included engagement questionnaire, technology acceptance questionnaire, system logs, and participants' feedback. Results showed gamification favored the engagement, stimulating intrinsic motivation in the participants. Groups assisted by health professionals spent more time with the app and were motivated in maintaining control of their health. In conclusion, gamification proved to be effective for this context, since it did not add complexity to the application and promoted the desired engagement results.
2018
BACKGROUND Gaming techniques are increasingly recognized as effective methods for changing behavior and increasing user engagement with mobile phone apps. The rapid uptake of mobile phone games provides an unprecedented opportunity to reach large numbers of people and to influence a wide range of health-related behaviors. However, digital interventions are still nascent in the field of health care, and optimum gamified methods of achieving health behavior change are still being investigated. There is currently a lack of worked methodologies that app developers and health care professionals can follow to facilitate theoretically informed design of gamified health apps. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to present a series of steps undertaken during the development of Cigbreak, a gamified smoking cessation health app. METHODS A systematic and iterative approach was adopted by (1) forming an expert multidisciplinary design team, (2) defining the problem and establishing user preferences, (3) ...
A Comprehensive Review of Gamification in Healthcare: Incentives in Mobile Healthcare App
IRJET, 2022
Gamification is a systematic approach for using game features and methods to make non-game processes more engaging. Gamification is a motivational technique that uses game mechanics, game dynamics, and components to encourage users to complete challenging tasks. Nowadays, examining existing relevant studies to uncover a collection of game features and approaches increases the chances of success in the exciting process. The main goal of this work is to conduct a literature evaluation utilizing descriptive statistics of game aspects in conjunction with a review technique. We looked at much research on gamification in healthcare. The viewpoint was pivoted after each publication was reviewed for the analysis, and additional analyses were done conceptcentrally. To enable the creation of more successful applications in the future, we identified individual behaviour change strategies and combinations of techniques widely employed in smartphone games. Smartphone games that attempt to change people's health habits are widespread, although the methods for doing so are unclear. We examined the integrated behaviour modification strategies in health applications with gaming aspects in a systematic way.
Game-based approaches (gamification) can provide ideal strategies for health promotion, prevention, and self-management of chronic conditions. However, there is a need to clearly define components and uses of gamification in healthcare for increased patient engagement in health information technology. Therefore, this chapter aims to define gamification and components of gamification, identify relevant research and examples of gamification in regards to health promotion and prevention, discuss strategies to gamify a health application, and summarize current research in the area of gamification for health promotion/prevention. Finally, this chapter provides an overview of gamification applications and how it can be used for health promotion.
A game plan: Gamification design principles in mHealth applications for chronic disease management
Health informatics journal, 2014
Effective chronic disease management is essential to improve positive health outcomes, and incentive strategies are useful in promoting self-care with longevity. Gamification, applied with mHealth (mobile health) applications, has the potential to better facilitate patient self-management. This review article addresses a knowledge gap around the effective use of gamification design principles, or mechanics, in developing mHealth applications. Badges, leaderboards, points and levels, challenges and quests, social engagement loops, and onboarding are mechanics that comprise gamification. These mechanics are defined and explained from a design and development perspective. Health and fitness applications with gamification mechanics include: bant which uses points, levels, and social engagement, mySugr which uses challenges and quests, RunKeeper which uses leaderboards as well as social engagement loops and onboarding, Fitocracy which uses badges, and Mango Health, which uses points and ...
This presentation reports the findings emerged from an analysis of recent mobile apps that stimulate behavior change for depression. Such analysis has been conducted as preliminary research for the design of the gamified system for mobile and web Blues Buddies, conceived to encourage users with mild to moderate depression to engage in outdoor activities and in safe social relationships. The study considers applications that provide information, tracking tools, life management tools and tools for awareness and relaxation as healing support to depression.
Design and Evaluation of a Pervasive Coaching and Gamification Platform for Young Diabetes Patients
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 2018
Self monitoring, personal goal-setting and coaching, education and social support are strategies to help patients with chronic conditions in their daily care. Various tools have been developed, e.g., mobile digital coaching systems connected with wearable sensors, serious games and patient web portals to personal health records, that aim to support patients with chronic conditions and their caregivers in realizing the ideal of self-management. We describe a platform that integrates these tools to support young patients in diabetes self-management through educational game playing, monitoring and motivational feedback. We describe the design of the platform referring to principles from healthcare, persuasive system design and serious game design. The virtual coach is a game guide that can also provide personalized feedback about the user's daily care related activities which have value for making progress in the game world. User evaluations with patients under pediatric supervisio...