Elderly people and video games: a possible encounter?

As life expectancy increases, so does the average age of the global population. In recent years, the research world has been looking for innovative solutions to design effective and sustainable care pathways for elderly patients suffering from neurological disorders. 

Neurocognitive rehabilitation, essential for countering the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, is particularly effective when systematically repeated over time and for many months. But for elderly patients moving home-to-hospital can be an obstacle. 

In this case, Telemedicine proves the be highly suitable but unfortunately, experts report a high drop-out rate (abandonment of the treatment protocol) among patients who follow at distance these protocols. 

Drop-out if often linked to motivational or emotional factors: neuropsychological exercise can be challenging and frustrating, making it difficult for a patient it can be difficult to proceed in the rehabilitation path without the constant presentation of a therapist.   

But what would happen if a standard therapeutic process were replaced with a game? 

As suggested by other ongoing research, serious games could be used to encourage motivation and engagement.  

These would be ad hoc video games created for the rehabilitation of specific cognitive function, playable from home and with a simplified interface designed for an elderly user. 

Preliminary studies demonstrate high involvement and reduced drop-out rates among patients involved in this innovative therapeutic strategy, opening the perspective to the creation of real therapies based on games.