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Can Digital Games Help Seniors Improve Their Quality of Life?

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Computers Supported Education (CSEDU 2016)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 739))

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Abstract

This developmental research study aimed to design, implement and evaluate an online educational game to improve the quality of life for seniors aged 55 years and older. The game Live Well, Live Healthy! (cvje2.savie.ca) is a Bingo game in which the learning content in the study is integrated into the mechanism of the game. A “pre-test/post-test” single group methodology measured the impact of the game on three dimensions of quality of life: psychological, physical, and social. A total of 56 seniors played for a week in multiplayer mode involving real-time interaction with at least two other participants. The results indicated that the educational game improved the seniors’ perception of a majority of the variables concerning the three dimensions: physical (fatigue, sleep, eating habits); social well-being (building ties, social connectedness, friendships) and psychological well-being (depression, difficulty doing activities, mood and feeling of being loved). Some variables (sadness, isolation, proximity to family and physical habits) generated a weak perception of positive benefits for these seniors.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the research assistants involved with this study: Samuel Venière for recruitment and data collection in the field, Aurélie Faticati for the literature review and Gustavo Adolfo Angulo Mendoza for the statistical analysis of the data of the study.

We also thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the AGE-WELL NCE Inc., a member of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence program, for their financial support of this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département Éducation, Télé-Université/SAVIE, Québec, Canada

    Louise Sauvé

  2. Faculté de Communication, UQAM, Montréal, Canada

    Lise Renaud

  3. Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

    David Kaufman

  4. Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

    Emmanuel Duplàa

Authors
  1. Louise Sauvé
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  2. Lise Renaud
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  3. David Kaufman
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  4. Emmanuel Duplàa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Louise Sauvé .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy

    Gennaro Costagliola

  2. Ulster University, Belfast, United Kingdom

    James Uhomoibhi

  3. University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA

    Susan Zvacek

  4. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce M. McLaren

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Sauvé, L., Renaud, L., Kaufman, D., Duplàa, E. (2017). Can Digital Games Help Seniors Improve Their Quality of Life?. In: Costagliola, G., Uhomoibhi, J., Zvacek, S., McLaren, B. (eds) Computers Supported Education. CSEDU 2016. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 739. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63184-4_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63184-4_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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