Game Digital Therapeutics for reducing perioperative anxiety in Children: Exploring Multi-Sensory Interaction Experience

Abstract

Abstract The repercussions of the perioperative period on children's mental health deserve attention. Children's special characteristics lead to anxiety during the perioperative period, resulting in affecting the treatment outcome. Gamified digital therapy has been offered as a potential aid, especially true for children, however, many popular digital therapy tools have not been designed to address the needs of children. We propose that a game design approach based on multisensory interactive experiences intervenes in the field of children's mental health. It could be a foundation for digital anxiety interventions. Therefore, we designed and implemented a gamified interventions system, to study how multisensory experience design could be applied within this context. This approach uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative user research to clarify the relationship between children's multisensory experiences (visual, hearing, touch) and design elements, and presents the strategies of game therapy development. To describe this method, we present its application in the design and development of a Leap motion-based game for children. Finally, findings from a formal user testing study with 6 children showed the effectiveness of the game therapy in reducing perioperative anxiety. This research provides new insights and creative solutions for the child's mental health.