Report: Games as Medicine on the Rise
Report: Games as Medicine on the Rise
July 16, 2008
The "medicinal" use of video games is growing, according to the Associated Press.
The AP details research done by Carmen Russoniello of East Carolina University, who is attempting to measure whether sickle cell anemia patients can manage pain and stress by playing video games. Russoniello tod the AP:
Ten years ago, they would have laughed me out of that place. But there's an acceptance of things. (Video games) aren't panaceas but they have their place and we need to find where that place is.... The kicker was the EEG; we found brain waves that were consistent with improved mood. That gets people's attention. They can't say anymore, 'That's nice, but how do you know?
Gail Nichols, 48, who suffers from severe depression, said she has been self-medicating with video games for years:
If I get stressed out, my service dog is there with me. I'll pull (the game) out of her pack and between her being there with me and sitting there playing the game I won't be so nervous about people around me. I would hope the medical community will add this to their bag of tricks.
GP: Children's hospitals have long recognized the value of video games in making their young patients more comfortable. Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity and the Get Well Gamers Foundation have supported such efforts for years.
A PUBLICATION OF THE ECA
SUBSCRIBE
LOGINGamePolitics ShoutBox
Posted 10/06/08 at 08:43am
Paulrus: 1up.com just reported that MadWorld may not seee release in "censor-heavy" countries like Australia, Germany, and even Japan. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170362
Paulrus: 1up.com just reported that MadWorld may not seee release in "censor-heavy" countries like Australia, Germany, and even Japan. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170362
Posted 10/06/08 at 07:28am
Austin_Lewis: they're all about a month old, but if they do it again, I'll be sure to post the link here
Austin_Lewis: they're all about a month old, but if they do it again, I'll be sure to post the link here
Posted 10/06/08 at 06:41am
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Hold up, Austin. Can we have the link to that Yahoo! Story?
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : Hold up, Austin. Can we have the link to that Yahoo! Story?
Posted 10/06/08 at 12:26am
Austin_Lewis: I've been reading on yahoo things I read on here three days earlier, nearly word for word. I've insulted the writers, too.
Austin_Lewis: I've been reading on yahoo things I read on here three days earlier, nearly word for word. I've insulted the writers, too.
Posted 10/05/08 at 09:29pm
PHOENIXZERO: @Austin_Lewis Just watched the video, I like how they mention Australia banning violent games and then show a list of games that includes some that weren't violent. <_< Think they could have given GP a little more credit too.
PHOENIXZERO: @Austin_Lewis Just watched the video, I like how they mention Australia banning violent games and then show a list of games that includes some that weren't violent. <_< Think they could have given GP a little more credit too.
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:52pm
gamepolitics: Plus, with Yahoo's huge traffic, if they want to steer some peeps to GP I'm okay with that, too! ;-)
gamepolitics: Plus, with Yahoo's huge traffic, if they want to steer some peeps to GP I'm okay with that, too! ;-)
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:51pm
gamepolitics: thx, Austin, but it seems to be more along the lines of fair use.
gamepolitics: thx, Austin, but it seems to be more along the lines of fair use.
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:16pm
Austin_Lewis: My link is to yahoo's playback or whatever they're calling it, which nearly always shows a gamepolitics article and seems to
Austin_Lewis: My link is to yahoo's playback or whatever they're calling it, which nearly always shows a gamepolitics article and seems to
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:15pm
Austin_Lewis: plagarize Gamepolitics' works and use his site, maybe without his permission. I just felt he ought be informed of it.
Austin_Lewis: plagarize Gamepolitics' works and use his site, maybe without his permission. I just felt he ought be informed of it.
Posted 10/05/08 at 08:03pm
J.Alpha.Gamma: This is an interesting read: http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200810/N08.1001.1532.23011.htm?Page=1
J.Alpha.Gamma: This is an interesting read: http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200810/N08.1001.1532.23011.htm?Page=1
Posted 10/05/08 at 03:34pm
Haggard: Far Cry 2 and Fallout 3 in under 3 weeks now :D :D
Haggard: Far Cry 2 and Fallout 3 in under 3 weeks now :D :D
Posted 10/05/08 at 03:09pm
Austin_Lewis: HEY DENNIS, CHECK THE LINK: http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/playback/playback-13/1246552
Austin_Lewis: HEY DENNIS, CHECK THE LINK: http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/playback/playback-13/1246552
Posted 10/05/08 at 10:19am
HarmlessBunny: @black manta: Certainly felt like I did when I had a flu earlier this week :\
HarmlessBunny: @black manta: Certainly felt like I did when I had a flu earlier this week :\
Posted 10/05/08 at 09:58am
black manta: "You have died of dysentery." ;)
black manta: "You have died of dysentery." ;)
Posted 10/04/08 at 09:06pm
DarkTetsuya: EZK: all that's missing is the 'rearview mirror' image he posted some time ago
DarkTetsuya: EZK: all that's missing is the 'rearview mirror' image he posted some time ago
Posted 10/04/08 at 07:30pm
VideolandHero: I prefer Oregon Trail.
VideolandHero: I prefer Oregon Trail.
Posted 10/04/08 at 07:08pm
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : BORING DAY IS EVIL
Shadow Darkman Anti-Thesis of : BORING DAY IS EVIL
Posted 10/04/08 at 04:07pm
King of Fiji: @Ghede: Holy crap you just brought back nostalgia by mentioning that game. T_TT
King of Fiji: @Ghede: Holy crap you just brought back nostalgia by mentioning that game. T_TT
Posted 10/04/08 at 03:19pm
Ghede: Number munchers is the only school game for me. MUNCH THOSE NUMBERS.
Ghede: Number munchers is the only school game for me. MUNCH THOSE NUMBERS.
Posted 10/04/08 at 11:21am
ZippyDSMlee: nighstalker160:an industry that lives on selling crap to witless sheeple.
ZippyDSMlee: nighstalker160:an industry that lives on selling crap to witless sheeple.
Copyright © 2007 ECA. All rights reserved.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
In France, there is also Michael Stora's work. He wrote a book about it, "Guérir par le virtuel" ("healing with virtual reality") in 2005.
You can have a brief description here : http://www.bief.org/?fuseaction=C.Titre&Tid=27540&language=A
So, things that are fun, make people feel better?
/takes notes
"Laughter is the best medicine."
The sad thing is that some people actually do need this kind of proof before they'll believe that statement.
-Gray17
Pokemon cured my depression. True story.
You can tell someone has a serious mental condition (not trying to sund condescending but that's the most bland name I could come up with) when they refer to their game cartridges as 'she' and 'her'. A level of obsession usually reserved for ships and sailors. Whatever works for him I suppose.
Hes talking about his service dog, not his games.
*re-reads sentence*
oh yeah you're right... err I must've read over the part where he identified his dog. I feel really foolish right now.
This is why I'm going into Ludology.
Games present a lot of new possibilities in a number of fields: epidemiology, sociology, psychology, pediatrics, medicine, so on and so forth. But the best part is what gaming can do for kids like the one in the picture. Child's Play and the GWGF do something that 10 years ago would have been laughed out of the room, and now it's helping millions of sick kids.
Black Vatican Comic. Updating 7 days a week! www.blackvatican.com
All things considered, this shouldn't surprise us. For those who know of Dr. Hunter 'Patch' Adams will know of the success he's had with improving the quality of life for his patients with laughter, humor and fun.
The simple fact is when you are miserable and have no way to release that then it will just build and build. However, if you have something like a game to play that gives you a bit of an uplift, then it helps relieve the stress that had been bogging you down.
HAHA! Take that Jack! You SUCK!!!
-Entertainment isn't the reason the world sucks. It's the reason we know the world sucks. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard researchers Larry Kutner&Cheryl Olson
Seconded, bro.
I wanna see how JT will react to this story.
I AM A LOST SOUL, CONDEMNED TO HAUNT THE DREAMS OF JOHN BRUCE "JACK" THOMPSON UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS. SOMEONE, PLEASE! END MY SUFFERING!
dont you get it by now =p this report is just further proof of how deep the video game business conspiracy runs!!
you wanted jacky boys response there ya go
Oh come on everyone knows injured people make lousy murderers.
And people with chronic depression have never murdered anyon...
Oh my god what did I just say?
Now Jack Thompson has a whole new reason to chase ambulances.
And here's the proof everyone's been waiting for...videogames do affect young children. We have to ban these games now, before they corrupt our sickly children even further!
Back in college I did a presentation as video games as therapy, I was surprised how much info was out there for research if you only look. One standout example was a game used to comfort burn victims while they underwent painful daily treatments. I just read an article about surgeons training with games. Doctors and patients both benefit from video games!
Give JT Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourny and see if that'll help him :P *chortle*
It's been mentioned several times. As far as anyone can tell, he hasn't tried it yet.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
A shame. He could learn a fashion tip or two from Edgy.
Video games are indeed useful. My current use has been training myself to do what autistic people normally don't do, make eye contact. I believe that by using the game Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion that I can train myself to feel comfortable looking someone in the eyes. So far I have acheived a minor success in that when I was in a store today I was able to keep my head up instead of looking at the floor like I normally would. I believe that over time I will be able to maintain eye contact during a conversation as good as a normal person could.
See Morons like JT only see games as evil... whilst they have benefits to social but now medicinal reasons as well, Pokemon as one guy said cured him of his depression... Penny Arcade are champions for video games for sick children, heck there's one at Alder Hey the children's hospital.