JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Serious games present a promising avenue for clinical care, enhancing patient engagement while delivering therapeutic benefits. Pain is present in many diseases, notably in Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA), and it can cause emotional distress while negatively impacting function and ability to work, ultimately leading to an overall reduction in a patient's well-being.

Objective:

This study, within the scope of the iPROLEPSIS Horizon Europe project, introduces NoPain Games, specifically designed to assist people with PsA in managing chronic pain. These games utilize repetitive, soothing, and cognitively stimulating mechanics to provide pain distraction and opportunities for cognitive engagement.

Methods:

The study emphasizes the co-design process of the proposed NoPain Games, adhering to an agile-based methodology and involving 14 experts, including clinicians, researchers, and game developers, from three European countries to refine game requirements, storyboards, and mechanics. They all participated in a 90-minute online co-design session.

Results:

Thematic analysis of the transcribed dialogues identified three core themes, each examined through their respective subthemes. Therapeutic Benefits (Theme 1) highlight pain distraction, memory enhancement, cognitive stimulation, stress reduction, and creative engagement, showcasing the games' potential to support PsA patients in overcoming both mental and physical challenges. Game Difficulty (Theme 2) focuses on balancing and dynamically adapting game duration and complexity, to sustain engagement without causing fatigue or diminishing therapeutic efficacy. Accessibility and Interaction (Theme 3) aim to address physical limitations, optimize touchscreen usability, and ensure inclusive design tailored to PsA patients' specific needs. Additionally, the feedback collected during the co-design process was integrated into the creation of two NoPain Game prototypes.

Conclusions:

Our findings provide essential insights into the design of NoPain Games for PsA patients, paving the way for their potential implementation as digital health interventions. Future work will focus on the technical development of the game prototypes while refining their mechanics and incorporating adaptive difficulty features. Afterwards, clinical trials will be conducted to validate the effectiveness of the prototyped games in improving the quality of life for PsA patients.