A summary post that introduces games and health, including references to related games, publications, and organizations.

[Featured image: Medication, Meditation.]

Contents

1. Overview
2. Games
3. Publications
4. Organizations

About: This is a summary post. It introduces the topic and references related games, publications, and organizations.

Related Categories:

Health

Disability Studies

1. Overview

Games and health is an emergent area of study that brings together health researchers, medical practitioners, patients, game designers, bioethicists, and medical humanists in the interest of developing, deploying, and critiquing games and the role they can play in health and wellness.

2. Games

Generally speaking there are four broad categories of health-related games: those that address therapy, training, education, and representation. Therapy and rehabilitation games can help with developing and strengthening physical and cognitive functions. Training games can help medical professionals develop skills, such as patient interaction and fine motor skills for diagnoses and surgical procedures. Educational health games address patients, students, parents, or simply the general public and seek to raise awareness and understanding of particular issues related to health. Finally, games that represent health, such as depictions of depression, daily health regimens, and medical conditions, work to show the lived side of healthcare, treatment, and well-being.

The number of health-related games grows by the day. We’ve included numerous notable examples on GS101. You can also browse ‘Games for Health’ in the Games Archive.

3. Publications

Below you will find selected publications in the areas of health and games. This isn’t an exhaustive list but a cross-section of scholarship and discourse on the subject.

Journals

Games for Health Journal

“Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the development, use, and applications of game technology for improving physical and mental health and well-being. The Journal breaks new ground as the first to address this emerging, widely-recognized, and increasingly adopted area of healthcare.” – Games for Health Journal

Books

Video Games for Health: Principles and Strategies for Design and Evaluation by Ivan Leslie Beale

Press

“‘Play This Video Game And Call Me In The Morning'” – NPR

“Will Doctors Soon Be Prescribing Video Games For Mental Health?” – NPR

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4. Organizations

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