Grant-worthy health game ideas from 2008.

When thinking about going after a grant, it always helps to look at past winners to ensure that your idea is a good match with the awarding foundation.  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Games Research initiative just announced its 2009 Call for Proposals for the next innovative Health Game idea.

Already thought about applying?  Make sure your amazing health game concept matches the research goals of RWJF before filling out all that paperwork.  Here are the groundbreaking ideas that received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Games Research national program last year:

• Cornell University, Department of Communication (Ithaca, NY) – Mindless Eating Challenge – a mobile phone game for younger adolescents that rewards their good health habits and food choices.
• Indiana University, School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (Bloomington, IN) – BloomingLife: The Skeleton Chase – an alternative reality game designed to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles among college freshmen.
• Maine Medical Center (Portland, ME) – Family-Based Exergaming with Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) – to identify impacts of the popular dance pad game on families with at least one overweight child, aged 9 to 17.
• Union College, Department of Psychology (Schenectady, NY) – Seniors Cyber-Cycling with a Virtual Team – to identify individual and situational factors that influence exercise behaviors and health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults, aged 50+.
• University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine (La Jolla, CA) – Behavioral Choice Theory Approach to Testing Exertainment for Adolescent Physical Activity – to identify health behavior change principles used in a variety of commercially available exergames and their impact on players’ physical activity levels.
• University of Central Florida, College of Medicine (Orlando, FL) – Practicing Relapse Prevention in Artificial-Reality Environments: [PREPARE] – a Game-Based Therapy Maintenance Tool to investigate role-playing games designed to enable people aged 18 to 65 that are diagnosed with alcohol abuse or  dependence to practice skills that can help them prevent real-world relapses.
• University of Florida, College of Public Health and Health Professions (Gainesville, FL) – Action Video Games to Improve Everyday Cognitive Function in Older Adults – to explore the effects of an action-adventure driving video game (Playstation 2’s “Crazy Taxi”) on the visual attention skills of a group of community-dwelling adults, aged 65 and older.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health (Chapel Hill, NC) – Presence: Predicting Sensory and Control Effects of Console Video Games in Young Adults – to investigate motivations to expend energy during video game play for people aged 18 to 35.
• University of South Carolina Research Foundation (Columbia, SC) – Commercially Available Interactive Video Games for Individuals with Chronic Mobility and Balance Deficits Post-Stroke – to investigate the potential of physical activity video games to serve as innovative, cost-effective ways to help people recover motor skills after experiencing a stroke.
• University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts (Los Angeles, CA) – Effectiveness of Social Mobile Networked Games in Promoting Active Lifestyles for Wellness – using cell phones to deliver “Wellness Partners,” a character-driven social mobile networked game, to children and adults aged 12 to 44.
• University of Vermont, School of Medicine (Burlington, VT) – Breath Biofeedback Video Game for Children with Cystic Fibrosis – to explore whether a breath biofeedback video game can improve cystic fibrosis patients’ self-administration awareness of their respiratory status.
• University of Washington, School of Medicine (Seattle, WA) – Video Games for Dietary Behavior Change and Improved Glycemic Control in Diabetes – to investigate health impacts of online mobile mini-games for people with type 2 diabetes, aged 18 and older.

More information.

For more information, see the Health Games Research initiative page all about the 2008 awardees.  Feeling inspired yourself?  Visit the RWJF Health Games Research Call for Proposals 2009 page for how to submit your own idea.  Proposals are due April 8, 2009.