Open AccessVideo games as a supportive tool in the therapeutic process
Author(s) -
Marcin Mateusz Granat
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
homo ludens
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2080-4555
DOI - 10.14746/hl.2021.14.4
Subject(s) - rehabilitation , video game , anxiety , cognition , rumination , physical medicine and rehabilitation , depression (economics) , physical therapy , psychology , stroke (engine) , medicine , clinical psychology , psychiatry , multimedia , mechanical engineering , computer science , engineering , economics , macroeconomics
The objective of this study was to determine the diseases that are on the rise, and then to investigate whether video games can support their treatment. To achieve the goal a search based on scientific literature was conducted. The results led to the conclusion that video games are an effective tool in the rehabilitation of post-stroke patients. Compared to the standard rehabilitation, patients who were playing video games showed improvement of upper limb motor functions, better static balance and lower anxiety of falling. Similarly, statistically significant improvement measured by Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test was observed during the rehabilitation of a pediatric group suffering from cerebral palsy. Video games successfully supported the therapy of other juvenile patients by enhancing visual acuity in cases of children amblyopia as well as lowering anxiety during the induction of anaesthesia. Moreover, the usefulness of video games was observed in treating mental disorders. It involved patients with the post-traumatic stress disorder, who presented reduced flashback frequency, and patients with depression, who showed a lower rumination score along with increasing subjective cognition. Indicating which diseases have an increasing morbidity rate as well as demonstrating positive therapeutic responses to video games can provide useful information for public health practitioners and improve the treatment of selected diseases.