Gaming features – like those used to drive airline loyalty and track daily steps helped young men living with HIV achieve viral suppression and doubled their chances for reaching near perfect adherence to medication plans, according to a study in AIDS and Behavior.
Gamification can inspire changes in behavior when a doctor’s advice or a patient’s good intentions are not enough. In this case, motivating those living with HIV to stick to the antiretroviral therapy (ART) that can keep them healthy by suppressing the HIV virus.
“The app delivered daily health messages in a digestible form that was more fun than sitting in a class and more consistent than a clinic visit scheduled every three to six months,” said lead study author Hightow-Weidman, professor of medicine and health behavior and mHealth researcher who directs the UNC Behavior and Technology Lab in the UNC School of Medicine.
Researchers improve HIV care using mobile gaming application
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University improved HIV care by gamifying it with a mobile gaming application.
Gaming features - like those used to drive airline loyalty and track daily steps - helped young men living with HIV achieve viral suppression and doubled their chances for reaching near perfect adherence to medication plans, according to a study in
AIDS and Behavior.
Gamification can inspire changes in behavior when a doctor s advice or a patient s good intentions are not enough. In this case, motivating those living with HIV to stick to the antiretroviral therapy (ART) that can keep them healthy by suppressing the HIV virus.
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IMAGE: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill health behavior specialists, from left, Kate Muessing and Lisa Hightow-Weidman integrate gaming features into mobile gaming application to improve HIV care. view more
Credit: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University improved HIV care by gamifying it with a mobile gaming application.
Gaming features like those used to drive airline loyalty and track daily steps helped young men living with HIV achieve viral suppression and doubled their chances for reaching near perfect adherence to medication plans, according to a study in