Does regularly playing serious gaming improve cognitive functioning of seniors in care facilities? Controlled Effectiveness Trial on a Representative German Sample. (Preprint)

Abstract

Exergames have not only found to have enhancing and preventative effects on physical but also on cognitive abilities in healthy older adults. Yet, there are just few results on effects for older seniors with age-related low physical and/or cognitive impairments. Their special needs were considered when designing and using innovate technology for the field of prevention, especially being relevant due to the continuously ageing population.

In this controlled trial, we test a serious game with various modules specifically designed for seniors in care homes, the so-called MemoreBox.

Over a period of one year and four points in time 1.000 seniors were tested in their cognitive abilities via the Mini-Mental-Status-Test. Half used the serious games three times a week for one hour and half did not. The objective data from the games gave us the opportunity to divide the intervention-group through identify those who played regularly.

The sample consists of an intervention group (n=56) and a control group (n=55) that does not play. Due to the technical data, a second intervention group (n=38) could be identified within the original intervention group, which carried out the study design correctly according to plan. The are no noteworthy differences between the demographic and main variables of the overall sample. The large reduction in the sample size is due to the effects of the corona-situation, in the middle of the survey (Drop-Out 88,9%). The Confidence Interval was set at 5%. The mixed ANOVA between the cognitive abilities of the IG and the CG couldn’t show a significant difference between time an group F(2,710,295,379) = 1.942, p <.129, partial η² = .018. The same for the mixed ANOVA between the cognitive abilities of the IG2 und CG F(3.273) = 2.574, p <.054, partial η² = .028, but with a clear tendencies and a significant difference between the two groups after 9 month of intervention t(88.1) = - 2,394, p = .021.

The results of this paper basically report something like the current research situation and the tendency for the intervention to be effective on the cognitive abilities of seniors can be formulated, provided that they regularly play the serious games of the MemoreBox. The small sample, the non-existent RCT and the no significance at an α= 5% suggest additional, further research. Establishing a preventively effective tool as part of standard care in nursing homes by means of an easy-to-use serious game would be a relieving contribution to the weakened health system, in which there is a lack of activating offers for senior citizens in (partially) inpatient care facilities.

German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS00016633