Barriers for the successful deployment of rehabilitation games

Physical rehabilitation programs revolve around the repetitive execution of exercises since it has been proven to lead to better rehabilitation results. Although beginning the motor (re)learning process early is paramount to obtain good recovery outcomes, patients do not normally see/experience any short-term improvement, which has a toll on their motivation. Therefore, patients find it difficult to stay engaged in seemingly mundane exercises, not only in terms of adhering to the rehabilitation program, but also in terms of proper execution of the movements. 

One way in which this motivation problem has been tackled is to employ games in the rehabilitation process. These games are designed to reward patients for performing the exercises correctly or regularly. The rewards can take many forms, for instance providing an experience that is engaging (fun), one that is aesthetically pleasing (appealing visual and aural feedback), or one that employs gamification elements such as points, badges, or achievements. 

However, even though some of these serious game systems are designed together with physiotherapists and with the patients’ needs in mind, many of them end up not being used consistently during physical rehabilitation past the first few sessions (i.e. novelty effect). Thus, in this project, we aim to 1) Identify, by means of literature reviews, focus groups, and interviews with the involved stakeholders, why this is happening, 2) Develop a set of guidelines for the successful deployment of serious games for rehabilitation, and 3) Develop an initial implementation process and ideas for potential serious games.

Topics

  • Serious games

  • Physical rehabilitation

  • Implementation of technology in healthcare

  • User research

Goals

  • Find out what are the most important barriers/factors for long-term adoption of serious games in rehabilitation therapy

  • Find out what role do the different stakeholders play in the acceptance process of rehabilitation games

Partners

  • Saxion (Ambient Intelligence research group, Technology, Health & Care research group), Roessingh Research & Development, Roessingh Center for Rehabilitation, Cherit, GameLab Oost

Duration

May 2023 to April 2024

More information

Contact pagina Alejandro Moreno

Financing

This project is financed by SIA through the KIEM GoCI (Creative Industry) scheme.

SIA: http://www.regieorgaan-sia.nl/

RESULTS

Download here.