A Review Of How Technology Is Used For Patient Education , With A Special Reference To Video Games (Essay Sample)

Patient Education Technology
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Patient Education Technology
The evolution of knowledge has been happening for the last forty years because of new methods of learning which are constantly being discovered. One of the biggest changes is that fact that healthcare has moved from professionals making decisions and telling patients what is good for them to empowerment of patients where decisions on treatment are now made collaboratively. Patients are being empowered to take care of their own health hence moving from the emphasis of curing diseases to prevention and management of diseases. Nursing has benefited from new concepts of patient education and keeps trying to find better means of improving patient care (Bruggers et al, 2012). With technology and the results of studies performed using such technologies, new and better means of getting information to patients and their families. Patient education is an important concept as those who are knowledgeable can participate in their own treatment; assist in identification of errors before they happen hence increasing patient stays and reducing hospitalization rates.
Quality of life can be greatly improved if patients are more educated. Managing chronic illness is a complicated affair and educating patients through technology are very instrumental in patient safety. Advances in digital health include mobile phone applications, sensors, cloud based solutions and big date. These have been used in tapping the strengths of patients and assisting them in making health decisions. Some of these technologies enable remote monitoring and care coordination that enable self-care (Primack et al, 2012). Patients are engaged in a more effective manner and competencies well defined hence leading to effective healthcare delivery.
Patient Education Using Video Games
Patient education takes different forms, most of them aiming to engage patients deeply so that they are aware of health issues or can manage chronic illnesses that they may be suffering from. One of the current technologies being used is video games. There is a general assumption that video games are for entertainment but it does not acknowledge the immense educational potential that they may have on patients. Adoption of video games can lead to more effective recruitment in clinical trials, improved adherence to medication and better health outcomes for patients. A number of companies have recognized the value of using video gamification strategies in healthcare but support for the video games has been quite difficult to achieve (Bruggers et al, 2012). These barriers occur because there is stigma that has been associated with playing video games, lack of a number of proven outcomes in some cases and higher costs coupled with patent privacy and ethics.
Video games work because they are a powerful method of manipulating user behavior. Video games when used in patient education, elicit more engagement than traditional education methods. Many patients are fond of being provided with written educational material for example brochures. The visual and interactive means used in patient education lead to higher engagement and better results. About 65% of the population is believed to be visual learners. Organizations are therefore making investments in visual learning methods like video games. Many patients leave confused by explanations given by health professionals and fail to understand written material because of technical terms (Primack et al, 2012). Many also tend to forget what they have been told regarding management of diseases or other signs to watch out for. Video-based content can engage patients more and assist families in leading their patients to getting better.
Video games that are well designed involve aspects of a number of learning theories, which engage and motivate patients and lead them to higher level thinking in terms of healthcare. Learning theories in video games include:
* Active or experiential learning which is also known as learning by doing.
* Constructivism, which involves generation of knowledge and meaning from experiences and ideas
* Learning by making, also known as constructionism
One of the types of video games that have been put in place is therapeutic video games like the patient empowerment exercise video game initiated at the University of Utah’s pediatric department. The video is an activity promoting game that has been designed to improve patient resilience, empowerment and a fighting spirit for oncology patients. Meeting the needs of competing physical therapy goals and empowerment goals for patients is very challenging. The patient empowering games assists in such situations hence enabling achievement of both physical and mental goals for a patient.
Interactive technologies have led to improved disease management due to patient self-education. There are two main categories of interactive video games namely sedentary games and active promoting games. Sedentary video games are focused on educating patients concerning specific health conditions by merging different lessons and quizzes with puzzles and plots (Primack et al, 2012). An example of such a game is Re-mission or Packy & Marlon. Packy & Marlon helps diabetic patients to manage their disease by maintaining the blood sugar of a protagonist within a range that is healthy through proper insulin use and diet while playing with the aim of saving a summer camp from rodent destruction. Re-Mission empowers cancer patients by manipulating an on-screen robot to destroy cancerous cells while at the same time educating the patients on cancer and management of side effects that are brought about by chemotherapy. Various trials done have proven that this game is effective as cancer patients have become more educated and there is improved adherence to the chemotherapy treatments that patients are meant to attend.
Other commercially available video games have been used for clinical purposes. Games such as exergames, Nintendo, xbox and playstation have been used by healthcare institutions in enhancing patient education hence leading to better disease management. The game ‘dance dance revolution’ has greatly assisted in weight loss in childhood obesity. Children use if for aerobic workouts and this has led to many obese children losing weight through this game even though it was not initially designed for this purpose. Other games such as Wii boxing and bowling have led to effective neurorehabiliation of people suffering from Parkinson’s disease and strokes. The game known as circus challenge has also been effective in managing hemiplegia, which occurs after a stroke (Primack et al, 2012). Patients have been able to regain control of their arms through performing different tasks of increasing difficulty. Comparisons of active and passive video games show that the games, which were activity oriented, lead to increased energy expenditure.
Another video game that has been developed is ‘Simon.’ Simon is a virtual congenital heart failure patient who has recently been released from the hospital. The patients engaging in the game have to train ‘Simon’ on three activities, which are weight follow up and measurements, daily intake of medication and getting in touch with the doctor in emergencies. If they enable ‘Simon’ to prevent weekly re-admissions ,it is an indication that they have won the game. The game has been developed by the University of Pittsburgh together with Simcoach Games who create videos intended to bring about behavior change and learning in users. The game has been developed to specifically reduce the number of hospital readmissions occurring in congestive heart failure systems. This game has been beneficial to both patients and healthcare providers. Physicians are also using the video for professional development and have as much interest as that of patients.
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