By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: #mHealth Summit: Serious Games Alive, Well and Prepared to Partner
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Mobile Health > #mHealth Summit: Serious Games Alive, Well and Prepared to Partner
Mobile Health

#mHealth Summit: Serious Games Alive, Well and Prepared to Partner

Tracy Granzyk
Tracy Granzyk
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

Monday afternoon in the Washington DC area, a panel of serious game developers moderated by fellow game developer and co-founder at Digitalmill, Ben Sawyer (@BenSawyer) addressed a packed room of mHealth Summit attendees looking to become educated on the growing movement that is serious games, or games for health. The panel included Dr.

Monday afternoon in the Washington DC area, a panel of serious game developers moderated by fellow game developer and co-founder at Digitalmill, Ben Sawyer (@BenSawyer) addressed a packed room of mHealth Summit attendees looking to become educated on the growing movement that is serious games, or games for health. The panel included Dr. Dan Baden family physician from the CDC, Michael Fergusson, CEO & Founder, Ayogo (@fergusson), Dr. Doug Elwood, physician/entrepreneur at NYU Langone Medical Center and Bonnie Feldman DDS, MBA @DrBonnie360. Throughout the short 75 minute session, the panel members each discussed their own individual projects, as well as their thoughts on serious games versus simple gamification strategies.

Ayogo_Monster_ManorIf all this sounds foreign to you right now, give it time. Give it time for key healthcare stakeholders to adjust to the idea that instead of prescribing a medication for high blood pressure, they may instead be prescribing an app to manage weight and diet long before heart disease sets in. Or giving pediatric patients a game to play in order to keep their Type I diabetes in check like never before. Give it time for serious game developers to put out the peer-reviewed, or comparative effectiveness, research that supports an app over atorvastatin to manage cholesterol.

The future was at mHealth this week–and the only thing slowing down a faster paced adoption of serious games seems to be the capital and commercial partnerships allowing developers the ability to scale serious game solutions to address the growing demand of healthcare for cost effective disease management alternatives. Sawyer also commented that: “games democratize complex systems…and enhance health literacy.”  Michael Fergusson shared “how tos” for developers while providing examples of his design-rich diabetes management apps available through his company, Ayogo. (see included photo of Ayogo’s Monster Manor for more information). Dan Baden shared the work being done at the CDC above and beyond the attention-getting Zombie Apocalypse disaster preparedness campaign. Additional efforts include the re-purposing of  content for graphic and YA (young adult) novels on disease states, as well as management. Hats off to the CDC for stepping far outside the box and understanding where people/patients actually are in order to reach them.

More Read

Mobile Health Around the Globe: Apps on Health Storified
Encryption-on-the-Go: Personal Mobile Devices and BYOD
Mobile Health Around the Globe: Kognito Simulation Training
BioAid App Turns the iPhone into a Hearing Aid
Apps for Heart Attack and Stroke Prevention

The games for health space is ripe and ready for those looking to treat, manage and connect people with novel, cost-effective health solutions. While skeptics may want to wait for all the data, early adopters will find they are able to reach, and move, patients like never before–maybe because well done serious games are structured to affect behavior modification traditional medicine has not tried to change, or struggles to move the needle when they do. Think the big 3: obesity, heart disease and diabetes–all often impacted greatly “simply” by the choices patients.

For “serious” information on serious games (aka games for health) you can try the following resources:

  • Debra Lieberman, Director, Games for Health Research
  • Ben Sawyer’s Games for Health
  • HopeLab’s – Makers of Re-Mission and Zamzee

First posted on Educate the Young

 

TAGGED:gamification
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

dental care
Importance of Good Dental Care for Health and Confidence
Dental health Specialties
October 2, 2025
AI in Healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Technology is Transforming the Global Landscape
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
October 1, 2025
Choosing the Right Swimwear for Health and Safety
News
September 30, 2025
sports concussions
Concussion In Sports: How Common They Are And What You Need To Know
Infographics
September 28, 2025

You Might also Like

google glass in healthcare
eHealthMobile HealthTechnology

Google Glass in Primary Care

September 4, 2013
eHealthMobile Health

Latest Samsung Smartphone Adds Health Functions

March 24, 2013
Image
eHealthMobile Health

Mobile Health Around the Globe: Russia Uses mHealth to Help High Risk Patients

February 11, 2013
Image
Mobile Health

mHealthSummit 2012, #MHS12: Ready, Set, Go!

December 4, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?