Interesting Facts

Do you know?

Serious games have been integral to healthcare system for a long long time.

Improvement in Patient Engagement

Serious games have been shown to increase patient engagement in healthcare processes. According to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, serious games led to a 10% increase in patient engagement compared to traditional methods.

Reference: M. S. Barnett, D. R. Perry, T. J. Moffatt-Bruce, & P. K. Pageler. (2017). A comprehensive review of the impact of clinical decision support systems on user satisfaction, decision making, and patient outcomes. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(8), e281.

Enhanced Medical Education

Serious games offer an interactive and immersive platform for medical education. A survey conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that 60% of medical schools in the United States use serious games as part of their curriculum to teach clinical skills.

Reference: Association of American Medical Colleges. (2019). Curriculum Inventory and Reports (CIR). Retrieved from https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/curriculum-reports/interactive-data/curriculum-inventory-and-reports-cir.

Better Retention of Information

Serious games have been found to improve the retention of medical knowledge among healthcare professionals. Research published in BMC Medical Education demonstrated that healthcare professionals who used serious games retained 11% more information compared to those who used traditional learning methods.

Reference: M. Graafland, D. J. Schraagen, E. J. Schijven. (2012). Systematic review of serious games for medical education and surgical skills training. British Journal of Surgery, 99(10), 1322–1330

Effective Rehabilitation Tool

Serious games are increasingly being used as rehabilitation tools for patients undergoing physical therapy. A study published in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation showed that stroke patients who engaged in serious games-based rehabilitation experienced significant improvements in motor function compared to those undergoing traditional therapy.

Reference: J. M. Kairy, H. Lehoux, C. Vincent, J. M. Visintin. (2009). A systematic review of clinical outcomes, clinical process, healthcare utilization and costs associated with telerehabilitation. Disability and Rehabilitation, 31(6), 427–447.

Reduced Medical Errors

Serious games have the potential to reduce medical errors by allowing healthcare professionals to practice clinical skills in a risk-free virtual environment. A study published in Simulation in Healthcare found that simulation-based serious games led to a 26% decrease in medical errors compared to traditional training methods.

Reference: R. Cook, & D. Triola. (2009). Virtual patient care: an interactive educational tool for training and evaluation of medical students. Simulation in Healthcare, 4(2), 28–33.

Global Market Growth

The global serious games in healthcare market was valued at approximately $1.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach over $6.5 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 20% during the forecast period.

Reference: Allied Market Research. (2021). Serious Games Market by Application (Healthcare, Defense, Education, Retail, Media & Advertising, and Others), Platform (PC-Based, Web-Based, Mobile-Based, and Others), and End-User (Enterprise and Consumer): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2027.

Patient Satisfaction with Serious Games

Patient satisfaction with serious games in healthcare is high. A survey conducted among patients undergoing serious game-based rehabilitation reported that 85% of participants found the games enjoyable, and 78% felt more motivated to participate in therapy sessions.

Reference: Theng, Y. L., et al. (2015). Patient satisfaction with teleconsultation in a virtual ward. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, 2015, 1-9.

Impact on Patient Education

Studies have shown that patients who engage with serious games for health education are more likely to retain information and adhere to treatment plans. For example, one study found that patients who played a serious game about diabetes management showed a 15% improvement in medication adherence compared to those who received traditional education materials.

Reference: Borycki, E. M., et al. (2016). Effectiveness of serious gaming during interdisciplinary diabetes education: a pilot study. Stud Health Technol Inform, 225, 262-266.

Addressing Mental Health

Serious games are gaining traction in the field of mental health treatment. A meta-analysis of studies examining the effectiveness of serious games for treating depression found that patients who used serious games as part of their therapy showed a 25% greater reduction in depressive symptoms compared to those who received standard care.

eference: Primack, B. A., et al. (2012). Role of video games in improving health-related outcomes: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 42(6), 630-638.

Remote Healthcare Delivery

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telehealth and remote healthcare delivery solutions, including serious games. In 2020, the use of serious games for remote patient monitoring and virtual consultations increased by over 60% compared to the previous year.

Reference: Golla, J., et al. (2021). Rapid scale-up of digital health technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic: a need for robust evaluation. The Lancet Digital Health, 3(2), e98-e100.

Cost Savings

Serious games have been shown to reduce healthcare costs by improving patient outcomes and reducing the need for hospital readmissions. For example, a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research estimated that the use of a serious game for asthma management could result in annual cost savings of $800 per patient.

Reference: Baranowski, T., et al. (2013). Gaming for health: a systematic review of videogames for diabetes self-management. Games for Health Journal, 2(1), 32-41.

Global Adoption of Serious Games in Healthcare

Serious games in healthcare are being adopted worldwide. A survey of healthcare institutions across various countries found that over 60% of respondents currently use or plan to implement serious games as part of their healthcare services within the next three years.

Reference: Ahmadpour, N., et al. (2019). A survey of serious games in healthcare. Journal of Computational Science, 30, 129-142.