Title Serious game iDO: towards better education in dementia care /
Authors Maskeliūnas, Rytis ; Damaševičius, Robertas ; Paulauskas, Andrius ; Lethin, Connie ; Esposito, Anna ; Catena, Mauro ; Aschettino, Vincenzo
DOI 10.3390/info10110355
Full Text Download
Is Part of Information.. Basel : MDPI. 2019, vol. 10, iss. 11, art. no. 355, p. 1-15.. ISSN 2078-2489
Keywords [eng] assisted living ; dementia care ; people with dementia ; caregivers ; information and communication technology ; educational game ; serious game
Abstract [eng] We describe the iDO serious game developed during implementation of the Innovative Digital Training Opportunities on Dementia for Direct Care Workers (IDO) project. The project targets formal and informal caregivers of persons with dementia in order to improve caregiver knowledge and competences skills with a non-traditional source of training. This paper describes the steps faced to define the iDO caregiver behavior improvement model, design of game mechanics, development of game art and game characters, and implementation of gameplay. Furthermore, it aimed to assess the direct impact of the game on caregivers (n = 48) and seniors with early signs of dementia (n = 14) in Lithuania measured with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS). The caregivers’ GDS scores showed a decrease in negative answers from 13.4% (pre-game survey) to 5.2% (post-game survey). The seniors’ GDS scores showed a decrease in negative answers from 24.9% (pre-game survey) to 10.9% (post-game survey). The overall DAS scores increased from 6.07 in the pre-game survey to 6.41 in the post-game survey, statistically significant for both caregivers and seniors (p < 0.001), respectively. We conclude that the game aroused positive moods and attitudes for future caregivers of persons with dementia, indicating a more relaxed status and a decreased fear in accomplishing the caring process.
Published Basel : MDPI
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2019
CC license CC license description