Games For Diabetes

Diabetes Education Through Board Games A Good Idea Or A Trivial Pursuit?

People digest diabetes education in different ways. Some prefer human interaction; some prefer reading. And over the years, attempts have even been made to develop diabetes learning across a different platform: board games. Even the most distracted children, rebellious teenagers and exhausted parents enjoy coming together to play board games. But, as evidenced by a distinct lack of mainstream success, diabetes has proven a tough, unsalted nut to crack in creators bids to garner widespread interactive recognition. Personally, Id be thrilled if the NHS was to trial a diabetes board game. As a child, I found it hard to take in an abundance of medical information, but I loved board games; an educational, fun combination of the two would have been ideal. It seems that, while several attempts have been made to create a diabetes board game in the last 15-20 years, they have all suffered a brevity of existence. But that isnt to say there werent some excellent efforts along the way. Learning About Diabetes: A Game for Healthy Living boasted 1,000 questions across five topics One of the first major attempts of note was in 2000 when Paul Tracey, president of medical education agency Tracey Associates, developed Learning About Diabetes: A Game for Healthy Living an interactive education tool to help people learn about type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. The game was created for older children and adults, and boasted 1,000 questions across five topics: blood sugar, exercise, healthy eating, learning about diabetes and preventing other problems. Users rolled the dice to advance to the YOU WIN square, navigating traps along the way such as: You ate too many fatty foods. Go back three spaces of course modern research has established that low-fat guidelines from the 1980s were deeply Continue reading >>

A New Game May Help Patients Win Diabetes Management

Sugar photo via istock.com/#169stocksnapper An online game tested by researchers from Brigham and Womens Hospital (BWH) andthe Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System may offer those with diabetes a new way to manage their condition. The game, called diabetes self-management education (DSME), was developedby Qstream, a software development company based inBurlington. It works by asking players multiple-choice questions about diabetes management, complications, nutrition, and more, in hopes of helping patients take ownership over their disease. More than 450 veterans who had trouble managing their blood sugar were enrolled in a study meant to test the game. (Half played the diabetes game and got a handout about civics, and vice versa.) The participantswere sent two questions twice a week for six months, and were presented with the correct answer and an explanation immediately after answering each question. Players were also assigned to teams based on geographic region, and won points for correct answers. One question, for example, was, Which of these strategies can help minimize the amount of food you eat at a mealtime? Participants were given four options: keep serving dishes on the table, use small plates, remove your plate from the table once you are finished, or try to eat quickly. According to a paper published Tuesday in Diabetes Care, veterans who played the game had significantly lower levels ofhemoglobin A1c, ameasure of long-term blood glucose control, than those who didnot played the game.After oneyear of playing the game, participants had a .74 percent drop in the hemoglobin A1c, compared to a .44 percent drop in thehemoglobin A1c in the other group. That may not seem like much, but B. Price Kerfoot, an associate professor of surgery at BWH and the studys Continue reading >>

The Diabetic Dog Game - Gameup - Brainpop.

SnapThought reflection tool allows students to take screenshots and write assessments on key moments of certain games on GameUp. Learn more. For best experience, play game at full size. Sorry. Game is unavailable. For best experience, play game at full size. The Quiz Mixer allows you to take a prewritten BrainPOP game quiz and either customize/remix it or use it out of the box. Learn more. An interactive can give kids information about a topic in a richly visual way with some light interactions. Teachers should give students a study question, written prompt or artifact to produce. Learn more The Class Summary reports shows student performance and interest in different concepts covered in the game. Learn more. Continue reading >>

Interactive Games To Help Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Interactive Games to Help Type 2 Diabetes Patients Photo courtesy of Feelart/freedigitalphotos.net Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that is proving to be of global relevance. Far too often, people with the disease do not seek out information on the health risks, partly due to the fear that comes from the long-term bodily degenerative processes. According to a new study, for people with Type 2 diabetes, engaging in modern day technologies like interactive games and virtual reality platforms can actually help people with Type 2 diabetes make better choices and monitor their health on a regular basis. The study authors write, Our findings bring to light the unrealized power of information communication technologies as social platforms. The researchers found that when patients engage through interactive social platforms that are capable of building and hosting online therapeutic communities, the people develop empathy for others with are living day-to-day with a chronic disease. They also become peers who mentor one another in making better choices about their health as these online communities are developed, helping them make better choices and monitor their own health. Continue reading >>

Gamesfornutrition - Diabetes Education Games

Diabetes involves many facets of care and can be overwhelming to clients. Using games to reinforce concepts and provide repetition of information can be valuable and enhance learning. Feedback: We value your feedback. Please share any comments or suggestions you have after playing these games. The Balloon Challenge was originally a way of illustrating the importance of working together, especially in complex situations, during training activities. Starting with a group of 10 to 20 people, have them form a circle facing each other. It is often not a bad idea to have them all hold hands together and then let go while taking a small step backwards. Then from outside of the circle, begin to slowly toss one balloon at a time into the center of the circle, while challenging them to collectively keep the balloon(s) afloat (i.e. no balloons are to touch the floor). As you toss in each balloon, explain to them that every balloon represents a challenge, or complication, that someone would face in a given situation. Progressively, keep adding more challenges and complications for the same situation as you add a balloon representing each. Eventually, your group will reach a point where they can no longer keep the balloons off the ground. At this point stop the balloon toss. Have each member grab hold of a single balloon (some participants may not have a balloon yet). Then explain carefully that in dealing with complex conditions and situations it is nearly impossible to go it alone, and that it is important to work together with all the people and services that are there to support you. Much like it is nearly impossible to juggle that many balloons at once. However, once you begin to take the time to pass balloons to each other cooperatively, one at a time, a difficult task can be Continue reading >>

Video Games For Diabetes Self-management

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Successful management of diabetes requires complex daily tasks and decisions. This article examines the promise of video games to help individuals improve diabetes self-management. The article describes 14 video games, built on a variety of platforms, that aim to improve diabetes self-management. It also presents research findings on the games when available. Some games incorporate the players glucose readings into the plot, some test player knowledge about diabetes management, and one is a social game designed to bring people together to support diabetes care. The 14 games used a wide range of genres and techniques to improve diabetes-related knowledge, skills, motivation, and self-management behaviors. Most required problem-solving and decision-making skills for victory. A randomized controlled trial of the Super Nintendo game Packy & Marlon, released in 1994, found that children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes who had the game at home for six months improved their self-management behaviors and reduced their diabetes-related urgent care and emergency visits by 77 percent. This article, written with support from the Health Games Research national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provides examples and evidence showing that behavior change video games for diabetes self-management have the potential to help individuals successfully manage this complex chronic condition. Continue reading >>

Video Games For Kids With Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes often strikes children. Children love to play video games. Putting two and two together, diabetes educators have created a string of diabetes-themed video games over the years. The latest evolution of that simple equation–the Bayer Didget meter-game combination–arrived in U.S. drugstores this year. But can fun and disease education work together? Can they create compelling games or compelling education? Or are those even the right questions to ask? Bayer is marketing the Didget device less as recreation and more as solution. The meter “was designed to directly address the challenges facing kids with diabetes and their parents, and may also ease the tensions that testing can cause for families,” said Erika Muhlberg, a Bayer spokeswoman. The Didget device lives in a couple of different worlds. On one hand, it’s a blood glucose meter, built with the company’s no-coding technology. On the other hand, it can plug into a slot on the Nintendo DS handheld game machine. When attached, its users can play a series of minigames on the machine. As children test more often, they unlock more games. They’re rewarded for developing the kind of habits required for tight control of diabetes. The current set of games available with the meter, carnival-themed diversions called “Knock ‘Em Down,” has garnered a positive response from young users, Muhlberg said, but “Bayer is currently working with Nintendo to develop more games compatible with the meter.” Didget came out in Europe last year and was approved for the U.S. in December. Muhlberg said that the company plans to continue rolling out the meter worldwide. They may be racing against time, though. Last year, Nintendo introduced the DSi, a handheld gaming device that took out the slot necessary for Continue reading >>

Captain Novolin - Wikipedia

Captain Novolin is an educational platform video game , starring the eponymous superhero who has type 1 diabetes . [2] It was developed by Sculptured Software and published by Raya Systems for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The game became available to the public in 1992 and was sponsored by Novo Nordisk , makers of the Novolin brand of insulin . [2] It is a part of educational video game series from Raya that includes Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon , Packy and Marlon , and Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus . The game uses a 2D side-scrolling style of gameplay. Captain Novolin is the only one who can stop such evil aliens as Blubberman and rescue the diabetic mayor of Pineville who was kidnapped by the evil aliens. Throughout the game, Captain Novolin needs to avoid the alien invaders who have the appearance of junk food items such as bouncing cookies and doughnuts while eating healthy meals to keep his blood glucose within a safe zone. Captain Novolin can die if his blood glucose level goes too high or low. Players can earn bonus points by correctly answering questions that relate to diabetes. In addition, the game has a feature whereby a diabetic player can specify the frequency of their real-life insulin injections. [2] [4] Richard M. Satava mentioned an evaluation of the Captain Novolin game that involved the interviewing of 23 diabetic children (10 boys and 13 girls in the age range of 6 to 16 years) and the parent of one child on an individual basis. [5] Boys and girls were enthusiastic about the game, and several children said that the game would be useful when telling their friends about diabetes. [6] The game was met with approval from all of the parents in the evaluation and was considered to have value for facilitating discussions with children about di Continue reading >>

From Talking Bears To Puzzles, A Look At Interactive Games For Diabetes Education For Kids And Adults

Post a comment / Jun 29, 2015 at 9:14 AM For newly diagnosed diabetes patients, understanding their condition and managing it can be scary and overwhelming and that can be especially true of children. To ease a bit of the headache, many companies have developed technology applications that create fun, interactive ways for kids and their parents, as well as adults, to make diabetes less daunting and more manageable. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation , Diabetes currently affects more than 371 million people worldwide and is expected to affect 552 million by 2030. Amongside kids and young adults with Type 1 diabetes are an increasing number of children showing signs of Type 2 diabetes caused by obesity , its important for them to understand how the conditions work and what can happen if they dont take care of their body the proper way. Because of this, entrepreneurs, like students at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, are thinking of ways to inform children about their condition by creating a video game to show how blood sugar imbalances affect those living with Type 2 diabetes. According to a press release , the game, Cocos Cove, takes the player through an entertaining, multi-level puzzle game with actions in the game related to the highs and lows experienced by those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This subtle mechanic changes how the player moves through the level in a lighthearted, amusing way. The game is available at the Android App Store . Cocos Cove isnt the only game to educate people about diabetes, however. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation also provides two online games geared towards learning about Type 1 diabetes Ketones Attack and Diabetes Dash. Sproutel s Jerry the Bear is a stuffed animal mixed with an interactive video Continue reading >>

Diabetes Games For Kids | Novolog (insulin Aspart Injection) 100 U/ml

Please scroll down for Important Safety Information and Prescribing Information. Levemiris a long-acting insulin analog that can help control high blood sugar for up to 24 hours in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Levemircan be dosed once or twice daily and is the first and only long-acting insulin analog that has been approved for use in children with type 1 diabetes as young as 2 years of age. Levemiris also the first and only man-made long-acting insulin to receive a Pregnancy Category B classification. Levemiris available in 10 mL vials, and in FlexTouch. LevemirFlexTouchis the only prefilled insulin pen with no push-button extension and is covered by most health insurance plans and Medicare part D plans. Ask your doctor if LevemirFlexTouchis right for you. For more information on LevemirFlexTouchand a money-saving offer, please visit www.levemir.com . Do not share your LevemirFlexTouchwith other people, even if the needle has been changed. You may give other people a serious infection, or get a serious infection from them. you have an allergy to Levemiror any of the ingredients in Levemir. Read the Instructions for Useand take exactly as directed. Know the type and strength of your insulin.Do notchange your insulin type unless your health care provider tells you to. Check your blood sugar levels.Ask your health care provider what your blood sugar levels should be and when you should check them. Do not reuse or share your needles with other people.You may give other people a serious infection, or get a serious infection from them. NeverinjectLevemirinto a vein or muscle. What is Levemir (insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection)? Levemiris a man-made insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes mellitus. Levemiris not meant for Continue reading >>

Play Stories: Making A Difference: Helping Kids Manage Diabetes With Video Games

Managing diabetes is not easy. It requires constant blood sugar monitoring, an insulin shot four to six times a day and strict eating habits. Its hard enough for adults to maintain the regimen, but getting young people to be disciplined about this kind of daily work is a job for, well, a video game. A new collaboration at the University of Michigan matches young video game designers from the Stamps School of Art & Design with medical experts at the University hospital in order to explore non-traditional, even fun, approaches to a serious problem. Dr. Joyce Lee, Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School, treats adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes and is co-director of Mott Mobile Technology for Enhancing Child Health (M2TECH), which is dedicated to developing mobile apps that will help teens take better care of their health. We realized it was important to come up with new ways to motivate young people in their own care, because we want them to avoid diabetes-related complications, says Lee. And we realized we needed collaborators. We have the medical expertise, but what was missing was the creativity, the wonder, that artists and designers bring to a problem. Dr. Lee approached the Stamps School of Art & Design to seek out collaborators. There she discovered Matt Kenyon, a faculty member who specializes in code-based art/design and teaches popular classes in video game art and the new realm of creative apps. Matt joined the Stamps faculty in 2011 to enhance the Schools program in new media, as part of a university-wide cluster-hire in computational media designed to strengthen the universitys research in this growing area. Kenyon and Dr. Lee received a Third Century Initiative grant to help launch their collaboration. Continue reading >>

Fun Stuff Archives - Defeat Diabetes Foundation

If you are human, leave this field blank. Diabetes is a dangerous and life-threatening disease. Are you the 1 in 4 at major risk of developing diabetes? Early identification of your risk is the first step to prevention of diabetes and/or its complications. This simple Q and A helps assess your risk for having or developing diabetes but is not intended to replace an examination by your physician! The signs and symptoms of Type 2 diabetes can be so mild that you might not even notice them. I of every 3 people with diabetes dont even know it! When symptoms do occur the type and severity vary from person to person and include: Increased Thirst and/or Increased Urination Increased Hunger (especially after eating) Numbness or Tingling in feet, hands or legs Slow healing Sores or Frequent Infections I have an inactive lifestyle exercise less than 3 times a week I have a family history of diabetes parent or sibling Minority races in the USA have a higher incidence of diabetes. Do you identify yourself as a minority? I have hypertension or high blood pressure I have abnormal cholesterol levels Low HDL, High LDL or triglycerides I have a history of cardiovascular disease I have had diabetes during pregnancy or had a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds at birth I have a history of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women only I have areas of darkened skin (Acanthosis Nigricans) dark velvety patches around neck or armpits On previous testing, I had prediabetes, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Continue reading >>

5 Fun Games And Toys To Teach Kids (and Adults!) About Diabetes

5 Fun Games and Toys to Teach Kids (and Adults!) About Diabetes A diabetes diagnosis can be really intimidating. Suddenly, you have to start tracking carb intake and blood sugar levels,memorize nutritional facts about various foods, give yourself insulintheres a lot to take in and remember just so you can stay healthy. Luckily, people with technological superpowers have realized this and have taken action to give kids and adults, type 1and type 2diabetics a helping hand. The result are some games, activities, and toys . Here are five that you or your child can try. In this game, variousfood groups, sugars, and insulin tubes rain from the sky. The goal is to keep a characters blood sugar levels stable by directing him or her to the left or right to eat a varied diet or take insulin. If you manage to do this by the end of the countdown, you get to move on to the next level. But if blood sugar gets too high or too low by that time, its game over! While not particularly inexpensive, Jerry the Bear is another way to teach children about diabetes management. Invented by engineering students, the bear is diabetic and must receive insulin and food. It also teaches kids about healthy versus unhealthy blood sugar levels. Needless to say, gauging carb intake is an important part of diabetes management, and the Lenny the Lion websitehelps little ones learn to dojust that. Four games about carb management are available: Carb or No Carb? (decide if the food item presented has carbs or not); Compare the Carbs (determine which of two foods has more carbs); Guess the Carb (guess the actual carbohydrate content of various foods); and Build a Meal (toss together a virtual meal that hits a certain carb limit). These games can be played online or can be downloaded onto iPhones, Androids, o Continue reading >>

Games And Diabetes

1City for Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt 2Open Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 2Open Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 3Human Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 1City for Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt 2Open Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 3Human Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 4London Knowledge Lab, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK Shaimaa Lazem, PhD, Newcastle University, 89 Sandyford Rd, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8HW, UK. Email: [email protected] Copyright 2015 Diabetes Technology Society This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Here we review 18 articles that describe the design and evaluation of 1 or more games for diabetes from technical, methodological, and theoretical perspectives. We undertook searches covering the period 2010 to May 2015 in the ACM, IEEE, Journal of Medical Internet Research, Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, and Google Scholar online databases using the keywords children, computer games, diabetes, games, type 1, and type 2 in various Boolean combinations. The review sets out to establish, for future research, an understanding of the current landscape of digital games designed for children with diabetes. We briefly explored the use and impact of well-established learning theories in such games. The most frequently mentioned theoretical frameworks were social cognitive theory and social constructivism. Due to the limitations of the reported evaluation methodologies, littl Continue reading >>

3 Diabetes Games That Will Educate Kids About Diabetes

3 Diabetes Games that will Educate Kids About Diabetes 3 Diabetes Games that will Educate Kids About Diabetes Weve talked before about how difficult it can be to explain diabetes to your children and help them understand how to manage their disease. One strategy we didnt go in depth about is turning your childs diabetes care into a game to make it easier to live with and follow. In fact, the process of turning a less-than-fun routine or process into a game (or gamification, as its now being called) is revolutionizing the healthcare industry in a big way, and diabetes is no exception. So why would anyone want to gamify diabetes, or any health condition for that matter? Well, besides making it much easier to explain to children and young adults, the process of gamification actually makes the condition easier to deal with for patients of all ages. Turning something routine and unpleasant into a fun game with challenges, achievements, and rewards can increase the likelihood of the person with diabetes sticking to their care regimen, and results in participants reporting a much higher quality of life and satisfaction with treatment. Our absolute favorite diabetes app/game for children. Weve already covered the adult version in a previous post about the best diabetes apps , but the kids version really deserves its own mention. The app features a beautiful and whimsical diabetes monster that children tame by following good diabetes management practices. What this mostly means is a fun way for your child to record notes that include their blood sugar, their meals and carb intake, insulin doses, and other little notes about their condition (including an adorable mood selection interface that lets your little ones choose how theyre feeling that day). Entering notes gets encourag Continue reading >>