Background: Cognitive tasks designed to measure or train cognition are often repetitive and presented in a monotonous manner, features that lead to participant boredom and disengagement. In this situation, participants do not put forth their best effort to do these tasks well. As a result, neuropsychologists cannot draw accurate conclusions about the data collected, and intervention effects are reduced. It is assumed that greater engagement and motivation will manifest as improved data quality. Gamification, the use of game elements in nongame settings, has been heralded as a potential mechanism for increasing participant engagement in cognitive tasks. Some studies have reported a positive effect of gamification on participant performance, although most studies have shown mixed results. One reason for these contrasting findings is that most studies have applied poor and heterogeneous design techniques to gamify cognitive tasks. Therefore, an appropriate gamification design framework is needed in these tasks. Objective: This study aimed to propose a framework to guide the design of gamification in cognitive tasks. Methods: We employed a design science research (DSR) approach to provide a framework for gamifying cognitive assessments and training by synthesizing current gamification design frameworks and gamification works in cognitive assessment and training, as well as incorporating field experiences. The prototypes of the framework were iteratively evaluated with 17 relevant experts. Results: We proposed a framework consisting of 7 phases: (1) preparation; (2) knowing users; (3) exploring existing tools for assessing or training a targeted cognitive context and determining the suitability of game-up and mapping techniques; (4) ideation; (5) prototyping using the Objects, Mechanics, Dynamics, Emotions (OMDE) design guideline; (6) development; and (7) disseminating and monitoring. Conclusions: We found that (1) an intermediate design framework is needed to gamify cognitive tasks, which means that game elements should be selected by considering current cognitive assessment or training context characteristics since game elements may impose an irrelevant cognitive load that, in turn, can jeopardize data quality; (2) in addition to developing a new gamified cognitive task from scratch, 2 gamification techniques are widely used (first, adding game elements to an existing cognitive task and second, mapping an existing game to a cognitive function or impairment to assess or train it); and (3) further research is required to investigate the interplay of cognitive processes and game mechanics.

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Background: Inflammatory arthritides (IA) such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis are disorders that can be difficult to comprehend for health professionals and students in terms of the heterogeneity of clinical symptoms and pathologies. New didactic approaches using innovative technologies such as virtual reality (VR) apps could be helpful to demonstrate disease manifestations as well as joint pathologies in a more comprehensive manner. However, the potential of using a VR education concept in IA has not yet been evaluated. Objective: We evaluated the feasibility of a VR app to educate health care professionals and medical students about IA. Methods: We developed a VR app using data from IA patients as well as 2D and 3D-visualized pathological joints from X-ray and computed tomography–generated images. This VR app (Rheumality) allows the user to interact with representative arthritic joint and bone pathologies of patients with IA. In a consensus meeting, an online questionnaire was designed to collect basic demographic data (age, sex); profession of the participants; and their feedback on the general impression, knowledge gain, and potential areas of application of the VR app. The VR app was subsequently tested and evaluated by health care professionals (physicians, researchers, and other professionals) and medical students at predefined events (two annual rheumatology conferences and academic teaching seminars at two sites in Germany). To explore associations between categorical variables, the χ2 or Fisher test was used as appropriate. Two-sided P values ≤.05 were regarded as significant. Results: A total of 125 individuals participated in this study. Among them, 56% of the participants identified as female, 43% identified as male, and 1% identified as nonbinary; 59% of the participants were 18-30 years of age, 18% were 31-40 years old, 10% were 41-50 years old, 8% were 51-60 years old, and 5% were 61-70 years old. The participants (N=125) rated the VR app as excellent, with a mean rating of 9.0 (SD 1.2) out of 10, and many participants would recommend use of the app, with a mean recommendation score of 3.2 (SD 1.1) out of 4. A large majority (120/125, 96.0%) stated that the presentation of pathological bone formation improves understanding of the disease. We did not find any association between participant characteristics and evaluation of the VR experience or recommendation scores. Conclusions: The data show that IA-targeting innovative teaching approaches based on VR technology are feasible.

This is the abstract only. Read the full text free (open access) on the JMIR Serious Games website. JMIR is the leading ehealth publisher: fast peer-review - open access - high impact.

Background: School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated students’ loneliness, addictive gaming behaviors, and poor mental health. These mental health issues confronting young people are of public concern. Objective: This study aimed to examine the associations between loneliness and gaming addiction behaviors among young people in Hong Kong and to investigate how familial factors, psychological distress, and gender differences moderate these relationships. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2020 when schools reopened after 6 months of school closures. Participants included 2863 children and adolescents in primary (Grades 4 to 6) and secondary (Grades 7 and 8) schools (female participants: 1502/2863, 52.5%). Chi-square tests, one-way analyses of variance, and independent-samples t tests were performed to compare the differences of distribution in gaming addiction behaviors across gender, age, and other sociodemographic characteristics. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors that relate to excessive or pathological gaming behaviors separately, in comparison with leisure gaming. Results: A total of 83.0% (2377/2863) of the participants played video games during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence of excessive and pathological game addiction behaviors was 20.9% (597/2863) and 5.3% (153/2863), respectively. More male students had gaming addiction symptoms than female students. The multinomial logistic regressions showed that feeling lonely was associated with more problematic gaming behaviors, and the association was stronger for older female students. Low socioeconomic status, less parental support and less supervision, and poor mental health were risk factors for gaming addiction behaviors, especially among primary school students. Conclusions: Loneliness was associated with gaming addiction behaviors; the findings from this study suggested that this association was similar across gender and age groups among young people. Familial support and supervision during school closures can protect young people from developing problematic gaming behaviors. Results of this study have implications for prevention and early intervention on behalf of policy makers and game developers.

This is the abstract only. Read the full text free (open access) on the JMIR Serious Games website. JMIR is the leading ehealth publisher: fast peer-review - open access - high impact.