Research Proposal:

Will video games help prevent or reverse dementia?

Search 1

• Database: Computer Source
• Keyword(s): video games AND dementia
• Limiter(s): Full-Text Documents, Peer-Reviewed journals
• Results: 3
• Explanation:
  • Of the three results, only one appeared to be somewhat related to what I am researching. “Using mobile devices and apps to support reflective learning about older people with dementia.” The article has more to do with the caregivers taking care of the people with dementia than with video games designed to help those with dementia. I am not optimistic that I will use this source.

Search 2

• Database: Computer Science Collection
• Keyword(s): gamification AND dementia
• Limiter(s): Full-Text Documents, Peer-Reviewed journals
• Results: 3
• Explanation:
  • There are only three results in this search; however, the first is the most promising, called “Mobile Games Individualise and Motivate Rehabilitation in Different User Groups.” The research conducted in Finland has information that I am looking for in my proposal.

Search 3

• Database: Computer Science Collection
• Keyword(s): video games AND dementia
• Limiter(s): Full-Text Documents, Peer-Reviewed journals
• Results: 16
• Explanation:
  • This search came up with better results than the previous two searches, including in my research proposal. “Serious games as additional psychological support: a review of the literature.”

Search 4

• Database: PsycInfo
• Keyword(s): dementia AND video games
• Limiter(s): Full-Text Documents
• Results: 2
• Explanation:
  • There were only two results. The article “Virtual navigation tested on a mobile app is predictive of real-world wayfinding navigation performance.” It was regarding a test study to see if test subjects could use a mobile app to navigate two different cities. This article could be helpful for my research proposal.

Search 5

• Database: Computer Science Collection
• Keyword(s): gerontechnology AND serious games
• Limiter(s): Full Text Documents
• Results: 2
• Explanation:
  • This search only provided two results, but both could be usable in my research proposal. They are about getting senior citizens to be more social and active virtually.

Saturation:

I do not think that I have reached saturation. I believe that this is a relatively new topic that is just getting started, so I was having difficulty finding articles with both dementia and games. I tried both serious games and video games. I also picked up a few new terms; gamification and gerontechnology.

Thesis:

I have found what I need to complete my research proposal by using multiple sources and putting them together. The research I am proposing is a new territory that we need to solve soon as the world population is aging. We need to find ways to keep our bodies and minds sharp to help prevent diseases such as dementia. The additional hope is that we discover ways to reverse the damage caused by aging.

Annotated Bibliographies

Pitts, K., Pudney, K., Zachos, K., Maiden, N., Krogstie, B., Jones, S., Rose, M., MacManus, J.,    & Turner, I. (2015). Using mobile devices and apps to support reflective learning about older people with dementia. Behaviour & Information Technology, 34(6), 613–631. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2015.1015165

This article is about using technology to help the caregivers of dementia patients. They were looking at using mobile apps to help with reflective learning. However, they discovered that the caregivers used the apps to complete forms. This article is not a useful source for my research proposal for helping dementia patients overcome and improve their own lives by using video games to strengthen their minds. However, it does go on to suggest that more support is needed to introduce reflective learning with the patients.

 

Koivisto, A., Merilampi, S., & Sirkka, A. (2015). Mobile games individualise and motivate rehabilitation in different user groups. International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 5(2).  http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijgbl.2015040101

This article is about how they created three games to activate and assist people with special needs. They focused on those with learning disabilities and memory impairment. They used different hardware to test their theories. This article is a useful source and will be considered in my research. The goal of this research is to find ways to help those with learning disabilities and memory impairment. Even though this article does not explicitly mention dementia, it talks about memory impairment related to dementia. Some of the references say dementia. I may want to look at a backward citation to find more.

 

Santamaria, J. J., Soto, A., Fernandez-Aranda, F., Krug, I., Forcano, L., Gunnard, K., Kalapanidas, E., Lam, T., Raguin, T., Davarakis, C., Menchon, J. M., & Jimenez-Murcia, S. (2011). Serious games as additional psychological support: a review of the literature. Journal of CyberTherapy and Rehabilitation, 4(4), 469+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A321336264/CDB?u=klnb_fhsuniv&sid=bookmark-CDB&xid=0f9261a3

*This had no doi number; I left the link to make sure I could find it again.

This article is about serious games that were developed to help treat patients with various illnesses. It goes into a little of history for video games and how it has expanded into serious games and psychotherapy. This article will help with the research proposal to see if video games can help or prevent dementia. I will review the backward and forward citations to see if more resources can be located.

 

Coutrot, A., Schmidt, S., Coutrot, L., Pittman, J., Hong, L., Wiener, J. M., Hölscher, C., Dalton, R. C., Hornberger, M., & Spiers, H. J. (2019). Virtual navigation tested on a mobile app is predictive of real-world wayfinding navigation performance. PLoS ONE, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213272

This article was about testing cognitive navigation ability through gameplay. It was tested in two cities by two teams. There were also virtual tasks and real-world tasks for comparison. The reason for this research is to find a way to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s dementia. This research paper will be a benefit in finding video games to help prevent or reverse dementia.

 

Marcelino, I., Laza, R., Fdez-Riverola, F., & Pereira, A. (2015). Removing barriers to promote social computing among senior population. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks, 2015. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1155/2015/820349

This article discusses that we need to find better ways to connect virtually to help with our body, mind, and spirit as an aging population. It goes on to discuss how to train those that are technologically illiterate. It also shows that serious games can help improve memory. This article is relevant to my research proposal.