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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #320581
Title: Games for health for children—Current status and needed research

Author
item BARANOWSKI, TOM - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BLUMBERG, FRAN - Fordham University
item BUDAY, RICHARD - Archimage, Inc
item DESMET, ANN - Ghent University
item FIELIN, LYNN - Yale School Of Medicine
item GREEN, C - University Of Wisconsin
item LU, AMY - Northeastern University
item MALONEY, ANN - University Of Massachusetts
item MELLECKER, ROBIN - Deakin University
item PENG, WEI - Michigan State University
item Thompson, Deborah - Debbe

Submitted to: The Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2015
Publication Date: 2/1/2016
Citation: Baranowski, T., Blumberg, F., Buday, R., Desmet, A., Fielin, L.E., Green, C.S., Lu, A.S., Maloney, A.E., Mellecker, R., Peng, W., Thompson, D.J. 2016. Games for health for children—Current status and needed research. The Games for Health Journal: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications. 5(1):1-12.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Videogames for health (G4H) offer exciting, innovative, potentially highly effective methods for increasing knowledge, delivering persuasive messages, changing behaviors, and influencing health outcomes. Although early outcome results are promising, additional research is needed to determine the game design and behavior change procedures that best promote G4H effectiveness and to identify and minimize possible adverse effects. Guidelines for ideal use of different types of G4H by children and adolescents should be elucidated to enhance effectiveness and minimize adverse effects. G4H stakeholders include organizational implementers, policy makers, players and their families, researchers, designers, retailers, and publishers. All stakeholders should be involved in G4H development and have a voice in setting goals to capitalize on their insights to enhance effectiveness and use of the game. In the future, multiple targeted G4H should be available to meet a population's diverse health needs in developmentally appropriate ways. Substantial, consistent, and sophisticated research with appropriate levels of funding is needed to realize the benefits of G4H.