Gamification and its Potential for Better Engagement in the Management of Heart Failure or Quality of Care Registries: A Viewpoint.

Abstract

Over the past decade, gamification, an umbrella term that refers to tools that engage and motivate participants through the use of game design elements (e.g., challenges and rewards) in a non-gaming context, has emerged as a promising approach in the management of chronic diseases. Specifically, it has been demonstrated to be effective in the education of both patients as well as healthcare professionals on medication adherence, risk reduction, patient self-care, and rehabilitation. There is some evidence suggesting that gamification might have similar benefits for heart failure (HF) patients and their health care professionals. This is of specific interest since HF is a chronic disease associated with a severely compromised long-term prognosis and subsequent high health care resource utilization. However, more robust research is needed to confirm these findings and determine the optimal method, as well as barriers, to the implementation of gamification in the working process of health care professionals or treatment adherence to patients specifically in the setting of HF. This viewpoint explores the literature concerning HF and gamification and aims to identify its various potentials in the management of HF patients.