Health Points : Health Gamification

It’s the final episode of Series 1 of Health Points and we’ve ended with a bang. This episode was recorded at the Gamification Europe Conference including a stellar health gamification panel to discuss and debate the ethics of health gamification. The panellist include: Oliver Korn, professor for Human Computer Interaction (HCI) at Offenburg University, Germany and director of the Affective & Cognitive Institute with research area on assistive technologies, emotions in and game design. He co-founded the software company KORION where he continues his work there as a strategic advisor. Author and ‘life-gamer’ Vicortia Ichizli-Bartels. Victoria is the author of 21 books, with nine of them focusing on how to turn life activities into games. She is also an instructor, coach and consultant in the area of Self-Gamifcation. Melis Abacioglu is a serial entrepreneur with three major, industry-moving startups under her belt which includes being the founder of Wellbees, an HR Tech product, specifically a corporate wellbeing platform that works to create a world where everybody reaches her potential whilst being caring to one another. Wellbees serves over 30K employees in 20 companies and 7 countries. Pete and I will be back in the autumn for Series 2 of Health Points. We’d like to thank all our guests over Series 1:

Here comes episode 19 and in this episode we explore Robert & Aske’s recent research publication on virtual reality games and vaccination behaviours. We also talk through the role of VR in communicate complex issues and creating health behaviours, novel approaches to research subject recruitment methods, and the future role of gamification in pro-social behaviours for population health.   Robert Böhm is Professor of Social and Economic Psychology at the University of Vienna in Austria and a part-time Professor of Applied Social Psychology and Behavioural Science at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Jeyna and studied Psychology and Intercultural Communication at Chemnitz University of Technology.   Aske Mottelson is Assistant Professor in Human-Centred Data Science at IT University of Copenhagen. He has a PhD in computer science from the University of Copenhagen where he completed his postdoc at the Department of Psychology.   https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/denmark-trial-uses-virtual-reality-game-boost-covid-vaccinations-2021-06-07/   http://robertboehm.info/ http://aske.mottelson.dk/

We’ve arrived at episode 18, joining us is Prof. Michael Hornberger, the co-creator of Sea Hero Quest, a game designed to gather data on people's navigation strategies, which is one of the first skills lost in dementia. We talk through creating games that appeal to older adult audiences, making gamification ‘proper science’ and the distinction between task gamification and casual gamification (….that will hopefully influence the performance of a task).     Michael is Professor of Dementia Research and the at the University of East Anglia and the co-creator of Sea Hero Quest. His research group’s work involves using pioneering techniques to identify the spatial or navigation issues in dementia and how these impacts on people's outdoor activities such as driving and walking safely. 

Roll on Episode 17, joining us is David Wortley, Vice President of the International Society of Digital Medicine. We talk through David’s background, how he ended up working in digital health and the steps to settings up the Serious Games Institute, and perspectives on the role of gamification in health.   In addition to David role at the International Society of Medicine, he is a serial entrepreneur with a 50 years career that spans emerging technologies including telecommunications, computer, digital media and the creative industries. He was the founding director of the Serious Games Institute at Coventry University and responsible for the development of the institute, as a global thought leader on the application of immersive technologies. 

Welcome to Episode 16, joining us is Kartheka, Founder and CEO of BrainBerry. We talk through the possibilities of brain wave measurement to personalise assessment and intervention games for adults with Alzheimer’s. We explore clinical trials in validating health games, developing games for Octogenarians and a novel brain measurement approach to stop people cheating.   Kartheka Bojan has a background in theoretical and mathematical physics with a masters in biomedical engineering. In previous senior roles she has developed a nanotechnology-based glucose monitoring device, the author of pending patents in EEG technology for Alzheimer’s & glucose monitoring and has published work on the design of biosensors with gold nanoparticles.

Joining us in episode 15 is Andy Yeoman to explore the role of games in health and social care education. Focus Games has been delivered to over 2 million people, making training enjoyable, rather than a chore. We explore how educational games make learning interactive and memorable, encouraging players to discuss new ideas, share knowledge and learn from each other. Plus, how games can break through emotionally charged and difficult to discuss topics in ways not always possible in a conversation.   Andy is the co-founder and director of Focus Games that launched in 2004. Prior to entering the world of serious games, he completed an undergrad in human biology and worked in sales, marketing and client relationship roles for international life sciences organisations. 

We’re joined by Silja to dig down into the importance of narratives in health gamification. We walk through her journey in creating eQuoo, the emotional fitness app that offers a journey for users to develop skills in emotional intelligence and how to become a better communicator.   Silja has a background in psychology and has ventured into the world of AI and gamification to help people help themselves. This is principally through the emotional fitness app eQuoo where she is CEO. She’s  also the founder and CEO of PsychApp, a mental health tech company that builds  platforms for both patients and therapists. She’s an honorary research assistant at ULC  and a mental health Expert with the Wonder Women Tech Foundation. 

We’re back for another year of health gamification! We’re joined by Paul and Nicola at Gripable to explore what happens when you combine gamification with a medical rehabilitation device. The Gripable handheld device enables both assessment and training of hand and arm functions, and this tactile feedback loop has resulted in smorgasbord of gamification. In this episode we explore the steps in gamification design, game personalisation, using games to build trust and rapport between clinician and patient and the potential for games as clinical outcome measures. Paul is the Co-Founder and CEO of GripAble, a University spin-out from Imperial College University in London. Paul has a PhD in neuroscience and a background in digital health. He has 12 publication in neuroscience and neurorehabialtion and won multiple awards in heath innovation. Nicola is the Clinical Director at GripAble with Over 30 years of operational and clinical leadership of hand therapy services.  She is an occupational therapist and runs a private practice with expertise in management of musicians, she is a partner in NES Hand Therapy Training and the President of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy.

We’re joined by Agnessa and Paula to discuss the findings of their research publication on the role of gamification to develop shared understanding of the pandemic in indigenous communities in Colombia. Their pioneering research looks at analogue gamification solutions that are culturally adapted to win both peoples hearts and minds to share health education and create positive healthy behaviour change. This episode explores cross-cultural gamification, analogue and virtual gamification solutions and explorations of how gamification can be used for health education globally. Agnessa is Asst. Professor at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland with a research focus on the role of gamification in knowledge movement, knowledge sharing and innovation. She has a PhD in Management Science and teaches on strategic innovation and corporate social responsibility. Paula is Asst. Professor at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Columbia. Her interests focus on remote sensing approaches for habitat mapping to evaluate and manage marine ecosystems and influence policy related environment protection.  https://researchportal.hw.ac.uk/en/publications/using-gamification-to-develop-shared-understanding-of-the-pandemi

Roll on episode 11, joining us is Lucia Pannese to talk through her journey in creating and growing imaginary srl, one of the longest established and most respected European serious games companies. We explore the importance and approaches of co-design, mutual adaptation of games and creating games that resonate with users, so people can ‘win’ again.  Lucia is CEO of imaginary, founding the company in 2004 following her degree in Applied Mathematics. Since then, she has put all her heart and all energy into the company. She has more than 20 years of managing experience in innovation & research projects, with a special focus on digital interactive technologies to deliver user experiences   http://www.i-maginary.it/