Games for Health explained

Games for Health are games that aim to either promote health or to prevent, diagnose or treat (chronic) diseases.

Description

These games, which are generally considered serious games, aim to influence health outcomes by increasing the user's knowledge and changing their behaviors through play.

Conference

Games for Health is also the name of series of conferences made possible in part by funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of their Pioneer Portfolio program. Games for Health is a part of the Serious Games Initiative.

The conference has received media attention in recent years for its work to showcase the health and research implications of video games.^{[1] [2] [3]}

• Sep 2004 Madison, Wisconsin
• Sep 2005 Baltimore, Maryland
• Sep 2006 Baltimore, Maryland
• May 2008 Baltimore, Maryland
• June 2009 Boston, Massachusetts
• May 2010 Boston, Massachusetts

Journal

Games for Health is also a peer-reviewed journal, which was launched in February 2012.

See also

• Exergaming

External links

• Games for Health Conference Homepage
• Games for Health Conference Europe Homepage
• Games for Health Journal Homepage

Notes and References

1. Web site: Digital gamers target disease . 2008 . . 2010-04-13 .
2. Web site: This Is Your Brain on a Videogame . 2008 . Begley . Sharon . . 2010-04-13 .
3. Web site: Gaming Your Way to Fitness . 2008 . Aubrey . Allison . . 2010-04-13 .