The University of California in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneer Portfolio have been working on a fantastic health games site this year for their national program Health Games Research.  Health Games Research funds research to advance the innovation and effectiveness of digital games and game technologies to improve health.

Just recently they launched the bulk of their website content in the form of a database, the Health Games Research Database, which has been getting quite a bit of attention these last few days.  Why?  Because it’s the largest database of health games and related conferences, organizations, publications, and resources to date.  As of today they boast:

• 74 Conferences and Events
• 337 Games
• 526 Organizations
• 398 Publications
• 125 Resources

The interview.

When I asked Dr. Debra Lieberman, director of Health Games Research and communication researcher at the University of California Santa Barbara about the undertaking, here’s what she had to say.

HG: Why did you decide to create this massive health games database?

DL: We decided to create the Health Games Research Database because there are so many people who are looking for information about health games and related research.  For example, for the past 15 years I have received at least 40 or 50 requests per month from people who want to talk with me to learn more about research, publications, behavioral health strategies, design, development, publishing, marketing, people, events, game titles, funding opportunities,and business ventures related to health games.  It is impossible to respond to all the requests and also get my own work done, and the number of requests has been increasing as the field continues to grow. I wanted to develop the database so I could point people to a dynamic resource they could explore to find the information they need.

HG: How many people did it take to make this database a reality?

DL: The information in the database was gathered and organized by the Health Games Research staff with the help of 10 student assistants at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  I especially want to thank our team’s project manager for the database, Erica Biely, and the deputy director at Health Games Research, Maria Chesley Fisk, for their diligent work and valuable ideas.  Erica has been the driving force of this project and we appreciate her many contributions.

HG: I assume aggregating all of this information was costly due to the number of staff required.  What was your major source of funding?

DL: We are very grateful to the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, led by Pioneer team leader and senior program officer Paul Tarini, for their financial and collegial support for this project.

HG: As we all know, most of the information on health games is pretty scattered.  Can people make suggestions for additions to the database that may have been missed?

DL: We welcome community input to the database.  It has a Recommendation Form where people can suggest new content or revisions to existing content.  There are now more than 1,200 items in the database and we plan to add a lot more, and we would like to hear from our colleagues in a variety of fields who have more items to suggest.

HG: What an amazing accomplishment–congratulations!  How does it feel now that the database is complete?

DL: The three of us are very excited to have the database to use ourselves and to share with our colleagues in the wide-ranging health games field. My hope is that the database will spark new ideas and collaborations in the field that will help it grow in constructive and exciting directions.

A special healthGAMERS thanks.

On a personal note, I just wanted to extend my gratitude to Dr. Lieberman for answering my questions about their exciting database. As you can imagine, Dr. Lieberman is an extremely busy individual, but she always takes the time to respond, regardless of how small or large the request. The Health Games Research team was also kind enough to list our little blog on their resources page from the very beginning which has really assisted us in creating a dynamic, diverse reading audience.  Thank you so much Dr. Lieberman and team!

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) just announced that more than $1.85 million in grants for research that will offer unprecedented insight into how digital games can improve players’ health behaviors and outcomes. With funding from RWJF’s Health Games Research national program, nine research teams across the country will conduct extensive studies to discover how games can improve the health of the public.

Health Games Research is supported by an $8.25 million grant from RWJF’s Pioneer Portfolio, which funds innovative projects that may lead to breakthrough improvements in the future of health and health care. The national program, which conducts, supports, and disseminates research to improve the quality and impact of health games, is headquartered at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  It is directed by Debra Lieberman, Ph.D., communication researcher in the university’s Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research and a leading expert in the research and design of interactive media for learning
and health behavior change.

“Digital games are interactive and experiential, and so they can engage people in powerful ways to enhance learning and health behavior change, especially when they are designed on the basis of well-researched strategies,” said Lieberman.  “The studies funded by Health Games Research will provide cutting-edge, evidence-based strategies that designers will be able to use in the future to make their health games more effective.”

The winning research teams.

As always, competition was tough with 185 groups competing for nine spots.  Each winner has been awarded between $100,000 and $300,000 to lead one- to two-year studies of digital games that engage players in physical activity and/or motivate them to improve how they take care of themselves through healthy changes in lifestyle; prevention behaviors; cognitive, social or physical skills; chronic disease self-management; and/or adherence to a medical treatment plan.  And without further ado, the winners!

1. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)  Reward Circuitry, Autism and Games that Teach Social Perceptual Skills—tests effects of facial perception games on the brain activity and facial perception skills of 8- to 12-year-old children who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
2. George Washington University (Washington, DC)  Active-Adventure: Investigating a Novel Exergaming Genre in Inner City School Physical Education Programs—compares physical, psychological and behavioral effects of three activities: (1) playing Winds of Orbis, a video game that involves an upper and lower body workout as the player moves in order to control a character’s movements in the game; (2) playing Dance Dance Revolution, a popular video game that provides a lower body workout as players dance on a pad that detects their dance steps; and (3) engaging in traditional physical education activities at school.
3. Georgetown University (Washington, DC)  Wii Active Exergame Intervention for Low-Income African- American Obese and Overweight Adolescents—assigns obese and overweight urban high school students to (1) play the Wii Active competitively after school with the goal of lowering their body mass index (BMI), (2) play the Wii Active cooperatively in a team after school with the goal of helping each other reduce their BMI, or (3) play with no access to Wii Active  after school (control condition).
4. Long Island University (Brooklyn, NY)  Dance Video Game Training and Falling in Parkinson’s Disease—compares the use of a commercially available dance pad video game, Dance Dance Revolution, to two traditional treatment options that help people with Parkinson’s Disease reduce their risk of falling by increasing their balance, strength, endurance, motor coordination and visual-motor integration.
5. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)  Buddy Up! Harnessing Group Dynamics to Boost Motivation to Exercise. Research has found that people will work harder with a partner in a strenuous physical task than when working alone, especially if the partner is moderately better at the task.  This study provides a virtual partner that engages in exercises with participants on the Eye Toy: Kinetic camera-based video game.
6. Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI)  Short-Term and Long-Term Effectiveness of Exergames for Young Adults—investigates effects of the Mount Olympus game, a 3D fantasy role-playing game that requires players to move their upper and lower body in order to control their character’s movements throughout the world of the game.
7. Teachers College, Columbia University (New York, NY)  Lit: A Game Intervention for Nicotine Smokers—develops and evaluates a smoking reduction game delivered on a mobile phone.
8. University of California, San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)  A Video Game to Enhance Cognitive Health in Older Adults.  This study aims to improve these and other related cognitive skills by using a driving game in which players practice paying attention to relevant information, such as traffic signs, and ignoring irrelevant information, such as billboards.
9. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA) Robot Motivator: Towards Adaptive Health Games for Productive Long-Term Interaction — examines the influence of virtual social characters on people’s motivation to exercise.

In my last post on mobile phone-based health games, I gave you an overview of Mindless Eating Challenge, a game by Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of their health games research initiative.  As I had hoped, I was able to interview JP Pollak, doctoral candidate and lead researcher for the project.  JP gave healthGAMERS an inside look at this amazing project designed to teach middle school children about healthy eating through care of a virtual mobile pet or plant.

The interview.

HG: Why did you choose the book Mindless Eating to create a mobile game?  Who came up with the idea?

JP: The Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, directed by Dr. Brian Wansink has done some amazing academic work on this subject, and the popularized book Mindless Eating has received much well-deserved recognition.  Brian approached us (the Human-Computer Interaction Lab, directed by my advisor, Dr. Geri Gay) looking for a way to reach more people with the Mindless Eating message and the Challenge.  Basically, they have lots of great findings, and many people have had good results when participating, but they felt they could reach more people through technology and a more interactive medium.

After exploring many possibilities, we decided to target kids and make a game out of it.  Of course, the emphasis of our lab’s work is mobile technology, so the fact that it was going to be a mobile phone game was a given.  Then it was just a matter of taking a good look at existing research and games and seeing what worked. Virtual pets have been extremely popular (Tamagotchi, Nintendogs, etc.), and there is actually a fair amount of literature suggesting pet/ plant care can be used to encourage or reinforce behaviors.

HG: What aspects of the book were incorporated into the game?

JP: We use the eating tips from the book and from the Food and Brand Lab’s research as the healthy eating prompts for the game.  There are specific tips for snacks and for each meal and they vary based on the persons goals (losing weight, eating healthier, etc.).

HG: Is Mindless Eating Challenge specifically an iPhone app or is it a general mobile application?

JP: We have a J2ME version, a mobile-optimized web app, and there is an iPhone app currently in development.  Each has pros and cons.

HG: Was program design done in-house?

JP: All of the design was done in house.  The pets and graphics as well as some of the early coding was done by Sara Lin, a fantastic student working in our lab who has since graduated.

HG: What are the major goals of the project?

JP: The goals are two-fold.  First, we want to do good and improve health outcomes for kids.  The game is designed as a persuasive technology that we hope will improve eating behaviors in kids while they eat, and ultimately improve their awareness of what their eating and their self efficacy around eating.

Second, we’re an academic lab, so we’re interested in what we can learn from the game.  For example, what are the underlying mechanisms of gameplay that can be used to change behavior?  How does social influence play a role in behavior change?  These are questions that have been answered in other domains but haven’t been adequately addressed in terms of persuasive technology and health games.  Better understanding of these issues should inform the development of future health games that can be even more effective.  Addressing some of these questions is also the goal of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Pioneer Program grant we received to support our work on the game.

HG: What health results do you hope to see in players who use Mindless Eating Challenge?

JP: We hope players diets improve, that they become more aware of what they are eating and what they should (or shouldn’t) be eating, and that we can improve their confidence that they can make a positive change in their eating behavior.  We completed a study with 70 middle school students in upstate New York this spring and are currently working on getting the findings published.  We think they support some of our goals quite nicely.

HG: Will this game ever be made available for public consumption?  If yes, when should we expect the launch?

JP: This is a goal of ours.  We need to first answer a few more research questions and address some scalability issues, so unfortunately it’s hard to say when this will be available to the public.

Closing remarks.

I hope JP is correct about the possibility of Mindless Eating Challenge being made available to the public.  I think the market, especially the iPhone App market, is ready for a mobile health game.  We look forward to the results of the study!  For more information on Mindless Eating Challenge, visit the following resources:

• Kotaku article “Grants Awarded For Inspiring Health Games Research”
• Cornell University Food and Brand Lab
• Human-Computer Interaction Lab at Cornell University
• Mobile Eating Game Challenge summary page

This week, Ian Bogost and Gonzalo Frasca decided to close their seven year old serious games blog, Water Cooler Games.  In a nutshell, they believe that the idea of games for more than entertainment is no longer novel.  The blog sphere on this topic is saturated.

But a more important factor was at work in my decision to close the site. Since 2003, the widespread application of games to learning, news, politics, health, business, advertising, and other uses outside entertainment has become much more common. The very idea of our project was novel then, in a way that it is not now. Isn’t that what we wanted all along?

And it’s not just those in the serious game field talking about this topic.  Just a week prior an article in Health Affairs outlined the market state of health games. Currently, the health games market is valued at $6.6 billion, in comparison to the overall $42 billion video game market, according to PriceWaterhouseCoopers.  The video game business is estimated to grow an additional $26 billion in the next two years.

Will health games follow suit?  Carleen Hawn, co-founder and editor of Healthspottr.com in San Francisco believes health-related digital games have  an “immense” potential for growth in the digital game market, citing successes like Wii Fit, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Humana’s Horespower Challenge.

As the novelty wears off, what should we expect from the market?

If those in the field believe that serious games are starting to lose their novelty, how should we expect the market to react?  I’ve been asking myself the same question these last few weeks. The video game market continues to grow at a remarkably fast pace, but the health games market, although growing, has been slow.  If health games are really becoming a part of our everyday lives, to the point that they are no longer novel, where’s the money? Where’s the market?

I received an email from Ben Saywer, Co-Founder of the Games for Health Project, that seats for the Games for Health Conference this year are filling up fast.  According to Ben, “This will be the event’s biggest content offering yet.”  In other words, if you are interested in health games or learning more about health games–SIGN UP!  I went last year, and trust me, this is THE health games conference of the year.  Prices will be raised in 8 days so reserve your spot by visiting the Games for Health registration page.

Conference dates and prices.

The 5th Annual Games for Health Conference taking place June 11 and 12, 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the largest gathering of people interested in how videogames and videogame technologies can contribute to health & healthcare. On June 10 the conference hosts its second set of pre-conference events which includes Games Accessibility Day and Virtual Worlds and Health.

• All inclusive pass – $479.00
• Games for Health 2009 only – $379.00
• Pre-Conference Day Events only – $179.00

What to expect at the event.

• Over 55 sessions, many of which include research results
• Five total tracks are planned with special tracks dedicated to cognitive gaming, exergaming/active gaming, simulation + training
• Three exhibit rooms including a dedicated Exergaming/Active Gaming Exhibit Area sponsored by Humana Games for Health
• Networking reception sponsored by Virtual Heroes, a developer of learning simulations, serious games, and virtual worlds

The fine print.

This event is hosted in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which has served as a major sponsor of the conference since 2004. The Pioneer Portfolio supports innovative ideas that may lead to significant breakthroughs in the future of health and health care, providing Games for Health with the opportunity to become the leading professional community in the growing health games industry.

Still need more info?  Download the full GFHC 2009 brochure or visit the Games for Health website.

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.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced its 2009 Call for Proposals today.  A wide variety of researchers are encouraged to apply, including those with little experience in the field.  Submissions should be groundbreaking digital interactive game ideas that improve players’ physical activity and/or self-care.  Research ideas must also test one or more of these topics:

• behavioral health theories
• game design theories
• learning theories
• attitude change
• skill development

Grant details and important dates.

• 15 research grants to be awarded
• Each totaling $100K and $300K
• $2M given out for the year
• Call announced January 15, 2009
• Proposals due April 8, 2009
• Grant start date September 1, 2008
  

A program every health gamer should know about.

The Health Games Research is an $8.25M national program that “supports outstanding research to enhance the quality and impact of interactive games used to improve health.”  The program is directed by Dr. Debra Lieberman of the University of California, Santa Barbara.  Dr. Lieberman is the creator of several Nintendo-based games for health including Packy & Marlon (type 1 diabetes management) and Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus (asthma management).

For more information, visit the Health Games Research Call for Proposals page or see the Health Games Research page for further information about this amazing RWJF program.