Journal article
Exposure to “Exergames” Increases Older Adults’ Perception of the Usefulness of Technology for Improving Health and Physical Activity: A Pilot Study
JMIR Serious Games, Vol.3(2), e8
2015
Abstract
Background: High rates of sedentary behaviors in older adults can lead to poor health outcomes. However, new technologies, namely exercise-based videogames ("exergames"), may provide ways of stimulating uptake and ongoing participation in physical activities. Older adults' perceptions of the use of technology to improve health are not known. Objective: The study aimed to determine use and perceptions of technology before and after using a 5-week exergame. Methods: Focus groups determined habitual use of technology and the participant's perceptions of technology to assist with health and physical activity. Surveys were developed to quantitatively measure these perceptions and were administered before and after a 5-week intervention. The intervention was an exergame that focused on postural balance ("Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012"). Games scores, rates of game participation, and enjoyment were also recorded. Results: A total of 24 healthy participants aged between 55 and 82 years (mean 70, SD 6 years) indicated that after the intervention there was an increased awareness that technology (in the form of exergames) can assist with maintaining physical activity (P<.001). High levels of enjoyment (Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale [PACES-8] score mean 53.0, SE 0.7) and participation rates over the whole study (83%-100%) were recorded. Conclusions: Older adults' have low perception of the use of technology for improving health outcomes until after exposure to exergames. Technology, in the form of enjoyable exergames, may be useful for improving participation in physical activity that is relevant for older adults.
Details
- Title
- Exposure to “Exergames” Increases Older Adults’ Perception of the Usefulness of Technology for Improving Health and Physical Activity: A Pilot Study
- Authors
- Marie-Louise Bird (Author) - University of TasmaniaBrodie Clark (Author) - University of TasmaniaJohanna Millar (Author) - University of TasmaniaSue Whetton (Author) - University of TasmaniaStuart T Smith (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
- Publication details
- JMIR Serious Games, Vol.3(2), e8; 11
- Publisher
- J M I R Publications, Inc.
- Date published
- 2015
- DOI
- 10.2196/games.4275
- ISSN
- 2291-9279
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2015 Marie-Louise Bird, Brodie Clark, Johanna Millar, Sue Whetton, Stuart Smith. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (http://games.jmir.org), 27.11.2015. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Serious Games, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://games.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449223902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
83 File views/ downloads
758 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Health Care Sciences & Services
- Medical Informatics
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites