Adopting Favorable Health Behavior Through Virtual Reality Games (A Theory And Evidence-Based Review)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36782/arunika.v3i01.444Keywords:
Virtual reality games, health promotion, health belief modelAbstract
VR games are growingly incorporated as supporting tools in healthcare and disease prevention. Their features offer unique advantages through their immersive and highly interactive nature that may keep people engaged and committed in their utilization. Examples include games that are designed for supporting an active lifestyle and chronic illness management. The practice of using VR games is however limited. Evidence on the subject is also scant. Our study offers to look at the rising phenomenon from the patient perspectives using one of literature’s most cited theory in health behavioral studies, the Health Belief Model to understand people’s intrinsic motivation and response to their environment. We found that the need for entertainment can be a gateway towards initiating use, while more support is needed to maintain commitment. The features of interactivity and entertainment values are sought after by users and they may be the key reasons behind regular use of the medium. The entertainment is a reward to compensate for the “costs” of adopting new and favorable behaviors in health that may come in the forms of time and efforts in managing weight, moving more and taking medicines regularly. To expand the take-up of VR games among patients and users, we encourage to address any potential adverse effects such as addiction to using VR games, and reducing the digital gap to ensure better equity in health.
Downloads
References
Asosiasi Pengguna Internet Indonesia - APJII. (2024). APJII: Jumlah pengguna internet Indonesia tembus 221 juta orang. https://apjii.or.id/berita/d/apjii-jumlah-pengguna-internet-indonesia-tembus-221-juta-orang#:~:text=Terhitung%20sejak%202018%2C%20penetrasi%20internet,dan%20perempuan%2049%2C1%25
Carvalho, B., Soares, M. M., Neves, A., Soares, G., & Lins, A. (2016). Virtual Reality devices applied to digital games: a literature review. Ergonomics in Design, 125-141.
Fang, Y. M., & Huang, Y. J. (2021). Comparison of the usability and flow experience of an exercise promotion virtual reality programme for different age groups. Behaviour & Information Technology, 40(12), 1250-1264.
Fowler, L. A., Vázquez, M. M., DePietro, B., Wilfley, D. E., & Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E. (2024). Development, usability, and preliminary efficacy of a virtual reality experience to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors in children: pilot randomized controlled trial. mHealth, 10, 29.
Gao, Z., Lee, J. E., McDonough, D. J., & Albers, C. (2020). Virtual reality exercise as a coping strategy for health and wellness promotion in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of clinical medicine, 9(6), 1986.
Lee, N. R., & Kotler, P. (2019). Social marketing: Behavior change for social good. Sage Publications.
Logeswaran, A., Munsch, C., Chong, Y. J., Ralph, N., & McCrossnan, J. (2021). The role of extended reality technology in healthcare education: Towards a learner-centred approach. Future healthcare journal, 8(1), e79-e84.
Miller, A. S., Cafazzo, J. A., & Seto, E. (2016). A game plan: Gamification design principles in mHealth applications for chronic disease management. Health informatics journal, 22(2), 184-193.
Petrigna, L., & Musumeci, G. (2022). The metaverse: A new challenge for the healthcare system: A scoping review. Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology, 7(3), 63.
Saab, M. M., Landers, M., Murphy, D., O’Mahony, B., Cooke, E., O’Driscoll, M., & Hegarty, J. (2022). Nursing students’ views of using virtual reality in healthcare: A qualitative study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 31(9-10), 1228-1242.
Siricharoen, W. V. (2022). Factors influencing the animation infographic and augmented reality technique in healthcare promotion communication for the elderly in Thailand. In Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (pp. 9-16). IOS Press.
