computer games

Two of my passions are health care and computer gaming.  Now the time has come where they can go hand in hand, as there is a growing movement to use games to change people behavior as it pertains to their health.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has created the Health Games Reasearch Group which funds the development of digital games to promote health.  Their website also provides research briefs on gaming as it relates to health behavior.  Each year they host a Games For Health conference, a forum for game developers to meet and discuss health-related game development.

Research is being published that shows computer games can help modify behavior.  Elsevier did a study that showed game playing can improve dietary choices in obese kids.  The AMIA published a study by Hadi Kharrazi about improving healthy behaviors in diabetes patients.  Informa Healthcare published a paper on improving outcomes of people in recovery for alcohol dependece through mobile technology.

At Broderbund we developed Carmen Sandiego to encourage kids to learn history and geography through game play.  Unfortunately revenue streams for "edutainment" dried up as game platforms for fast action, first person games improved.  With health care reform, there is a new opportunity for developers to create games that encourage healthy behavior and changes in non-healthy behaviors.