Investigating the Finnish Elderly People’s Attitudes and Motivation towards Digital Game-Based Physical Exercises

Attitudes and motivation towards physical exercises play a vital role for elderly people’s adherence to exercise. In recent years, digital games have been used to enhance elderly people’s experiences in physical exercises. However, there is a limited number of studies regarding elderly people’s attitudes and motivation towards digital game-based exercises. In this study, we aim at investigating the Finnish elderly people’s attitudes towards physical and digital game-based exercises, as well as their motivation in the gameplay. Furthermore, we intend to investigate if digital games can be an alternative way of exercising for elderly people. We conducted a user experience test of the “Skiing Game” with 21 elderly participants in Finland. We applied both qualitative (e.g. interview) and quantitative (e.g. questionnaires) methods to collect data from the participants. Then, we analyzed the data by using SPSS and Nvivo. The findings show that the Finnish elderly people’s attitudes towards physical exercises are more positive than digital game-based exercises. However, their attitudes towards digital games have become more positive after the gameplay. Their in-game and post-game user experiences were moderately positive. Their motivation to play digital game-based exercises was moderately high after the gameplay. Their feedback towards the Skiing game was positive. They recommend that digital game-based exercises can be an effective way of exercising. Based on these findings, we recommend that digital games are promising to be used as an alternative way of exercising for the Finnish elderly people. The discussion in this study can help researchers gain insights about using digital games for promoting elderly people’s participation in physical exercises

Lessons Learned from Two Usability Studies of Digital Skiing Game with Elderly People in Finland and Japan

Physical decline is associated with old age. Engagement in regular physical exercises can help elderly people improve their physical functionalities, as well as cognitive abilities. Among modern technologies, digital games have the potential to promote elderly people’s engagement in physical exercises through fun and enjoyable gameplay. Although commercial digital games show promise, most of them are not designed for elderly people. The literature also suggests that more studies need to be undertaken to understand the usability and usefulness of digital games for elderly people. Hence, in this study, we designed and developed a digital game-based Skiing activity for elderly people. Then, we evaluated it with the Finnish and Japanese elderly participants in Finland and Japan to investigate their feedback towards the usability and usefulness of the game. The findings from both studies show that digital games are useful for promoting elderly people’s engagement in physical activities. While digital games are promising to be used as an alternative solution for promoting the Japanese elderly participant’s physical activities, the Finnish elderly participants recommend to use it when they don’t have access to non-digital physical exercises. The lessons learned from this study can help researchers and practitioners gain insights into game design and development for elderly people and their physical activities.</p

Gamified Solutions in Healthcare - Testing Rehabilitation Games in Finland and Asia

This paper presents a comprehensive summary of the Gamified Solutions in Healthcare (GSH) research project, which is a joint research project between Turku University of Applied Sciences and the University of Turku. The goal of the project is to promote exercise, social inclusiveness and enhance quality of life, aiming at developing new services and effective activity solutions for the elderly through gamification. During the research project elderly people were included in the development and testing of games so that they could be used for more than just entertainment purposes. According to all of our tests elderly enjoy playing exergames, and digital games can be an effective way to enhance the quality of life of the elderly. In the case studies it was observed that the players where motivated while playing but motivation should also be maintained throughout the gameplay. The elderly gave overall positive feedback for the idea of using digital activity games for exercising. </div

Lessons Learned from Two Usability Studies of Digital Skiing Game with Elderly People in Finland and Japan

Physical decline is associated with old age. Engagement in regular physical exercises can help elderly people improve their physical functionalities, as well as cognitive abilities. Among modern technologies, digital games have the potential to promote elderly people’s engagement in physical exercises through fun and enjoyable gameplay. Although commercial digital games show promise, most of them are not senior-friendly. The literature also suggests that more studies need to be undertaken to understand the usability and usefulness of digital games for elderly people. Hence, in this study, we designed and developed a digital game-based Skiing activity for elderly people. Then, we evaluated it with the Finnish and Japanese elderly participants in Finland and Japan to investigate their feedback towards the usability and usefulness of the game. The findings from both studies show that digital games are useful for promoting elderly people’s engagement in physical activities. While digital games are promising to be used as an alternative solution for promoting the Japanese elderly participant’s physical activities, the Finnish elderly participants recommend to use it when they don’t have access to non-digital physical exercises. The lessons learned from this study can help researchers and practitioners gain insights into game design and development for elderly people and their physical activities