As smart solutions for healthcare (eHealth) are becoming increasingly widespread, apps and other digital devices may effectively complement various forms of psychotherapy. We point at children and adolescents in psychological therapy as a yet-underserved public for similar solutions. Moreover, a shared design sensibility between interaction designers, game designers, and therapists is still lacking. The Games 4 Therapy initiative was launched to address this problem space through practical design explorations. We illustrate its design research agenda, we call for more attention to children and adolescents as important recipients of digitally-mediated psychological therapies, and we offer actionable concepts and game design tactics for interaction designers and psychotherapists. Finally, we discuss our findings by "thinking through" a selection of conceptual design explorations, pointing at the characteristics and tactics we identified in our sketches.
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BACKGROUND: We compared the effect of a 12-week group-based multidisciplinary self-management rehabilitation program, combining physical training (twice weekly) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (once weekly) with the effect of 12-week group-based physical training (twice weekly) on cancer survivors' quality of life over a 1-year period.MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-seven survivors [48.8 +/- 10.9 years (mean +/- SD), all cancer types, medical treatment > or = 3 months ago] were randomly assigned to either physical training (PT, n = 71) or to physical training plus cognitive-behavioral therapy (PT + CBT, n = 76). Quality of life and physical activity levels were measured before and immediately after the intervention and at 3- and 9-month post-intervention using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 questionnaire and the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, respectively.RESULTS: Multilevel linear mixed-effects models revealed no differential pattern in change of quality of life and physical activity between PT and PT + CBT. In both PT and PT + CBT, quality of life and physical activity were significantly and clinically relevantly improved immediately following the intervention and also at 3- and 9-month post-intervention compared to pre-intervention (p < 0.001).CONCLUSION: Self-management physical training had substantial and durable positive effects on cancer survivors' quality of life. Participants maintained physical activity levels once the program was completed. Combining physical training with our cognitive-behavioral intervention did not add to these beneficial effects of physical training neither in the short-term nor in the long-term. Physical training should be implemented within the framework of standard care for cancer survivors.
As smart solutions for healthcare (eHealth) are becoming increasingly widespread, apps and other digital devices may effectively complement various forms of psychotherapy. We point at children and adolescents in psychological therapy as a yet-underserved public for similar solutions. Moreover, a shared design sensibility between interaction designers, game designers, and therapists is still lacking. The Games 4 Therapy initiative was launched to address this problem space through practical design explorations. We illustrate its design research agenda, we call for more attention to children and adolescents as important recipients of digitally-mediated psychological therapies, and we offer actionable concepts and game design tactics for interaction designers and psychotherapists. Finally, we discuss our findings by "thinking through" a selection of conceptual design explorations, pointing at the characteristics and tactics we identified in our sketches.
