Active Gaming Blog

Using games for a healthy lifestyle has definitely become more popular today. Recently, a journal was released that focused on Games for Health. One focus in the journal is articles regarding active games or exergames. This journal will be a great resource to follow recent publications from research conducted with active gaming. See the article regarding this journal here and below:

Games for Health: Research, Development,and Clinical Applications; A Groundbreaking New Journal
on the Applications of Digital Games to Human Health

New Rochelle, NY, July 13, 2011–Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. announces the launch of Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications (G4H), a new, 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. Published bi-monthly, Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications will be released in fall 2011.

Games are rapidly becoming an important tool for improving health behaviors ranging from healthy lifestyle habits and behavior modification to self-management of illnesses and chronic conditions to motivating and supporting physical activity. Commonly used applications include mobile phone-delivered games that track daily exercise and “exergames” that require physical exertion in order to play (e.g., on platforms such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation Move, and Xbox Kinect). Games are also increasingly used to train healthcare professionals in methods for diagnosis, medical procedures, patient monitoring, as well as for responding to epidemics and natural disasters.

Billions of dollars and immeasurable hours of research and development are being invested in developing and employing sophisticated software and technologies that deliver tailored, personalized game-based healthcare interventions. Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications will provide a print and online forum for peer-reviewed research articles, new system and game reviews, field news and reports, convention and event announcements, book reviews, and point-counterpoint discussions to support professionals in the field.

“This research journal will be an authoritative and influential resource for decision makers who purchase, use, prescribe, recommend, design, publish, fund, or invest in digital games for health, and it will serve our research field and its related academic disciplines in many valuable ways,” according to Debra Lieberman, PhD, Director of the Health Games Research national program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “The Journal will be a starting point for anyone interested in the research and design of health games that integrate well-tested, evidence-based behavioral health strategies to help improve health behaviors and to support the delivery of care.”

Forthcoming articles for early issues of Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications include research on the effectiveness and design strategies of:

•Games intended to develop the social skills of people with conditions such as autism

•Exergames aimed at motivating more activity in physical education classes

•An alternate realty game designed to increase physical activity

•Exergames for young adults and families

•Games to help treat eating disorders and habits such as smoking

•Games to improve cognitive function in older adults

•The use of simulations to help develop the interpersonal skills of family members of veterans suffering from PTSD

“The benefits of games for health—from autism to Alzheimer’s to heart disease and other illnesses and conditions—are demonstrating significant promise for improving the way people manage their health and for the delivery of care both in and out of the hospital setting,” said Mary Ann Liebert, president and CEO of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. “Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications is a critical and much-needed forum for this evolving area of healthcare.”

The new journal is under the editorial leadership of Bill Ferguson, PhD with expert input from a diverse editorial board which includes researchers: Debra Lieberman, PhD (University of California, Santa Barbara); Tom Baranowski, PhD (Baylor School of Medicine); Martin E. P. Seligman, PhD (University of Pennsylvania); Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD (University of California, San Francisco); Peter Bingham, MD (University of Vermont); Barbara Chamberlin, PhD (New Mexico State University); Wei Peng, PhD (Michigan State University); Sam Yohannan PT, MS, (Cornell Medical Center); and many other leaders from the research community. Industry, technology, and other experts on the Editorial Board include Jim Bower, PhD (Whyville), Ron Goldman (Kognito) Benjamin Heckendorn (The Ben Heck Show), Ernie Medina, Dr. P.H. (MedPlay Technologies), Ketan Paranjape BS, MS, MBA (Intel Corporation), Russell Shilling, PhD, Capt. USN (DARPA); and Eric Zuckerman, DO (Pediatric IBD Foundation).

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking; Telemedicine and e-Health; and Population Health Management. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at our website.