Gamification as an engagement tool in the health and wellness industry has become a norm, however, personalization in gamification is truly more motivating for the user, and leads to better weight loss results to improve employee health.
Within 15 years, the American Heart Association estimates that costs in the U.S. for cardiovascular disease will triple – approaching $800 billion annually1. Similarly within 10 years, half of all Americans will have type II diabetes or pre-diabetes increasing costs to $500 billion annually2. With both heart disease and type II diabetes is almost entirely preventable, the question isn’t whether or not disease prevention programs are a necessity, but rather how can these programs maximize participant engagement to drive down healthcare costs.
Gamification: Improving Employee Health
In the last few years, gamification has emerged as one of the hottest topics in health care. Providing a playful interface based on proven game dynamics, gamification attempts to combine entertainment with goal-oriented tasks to increase engagement and reduce disease.
Similar to gamification in general, gaming in health care functions best when a number of key areas are addressed. In a recent post by Accenture, seven key areas were identified including (1) status; (2) milestones; (3) competition; (4) rankings; (5) social connectedness; (6) immersion reality; and (7) personalization3.
Currently, most workplace health programs include some form of gamification. Some even address many of the areas identified by Accenture. The problem is that very few programs address the seventh and possibly most important area – personalization.
The reality is, the point of gaming is to engage, motivate, spark interest and excite the user so that they are more likely to begin and to sustain participation. How can this be done properly if a game does not understand what “specifically” turns the user on?
General Gamification Vs Personalized Gamification
A disease prevention program may use general gamification – or a one-size-fits-all approach – to create a platform that captures the competitive side of some individuals. In doing so, movement via activity challenges in which a pre-set number of steps taken or miles covered are tracked. For an optimal effect, users would receive instant feedback indicating their personal progress as well as a leaderboard outlining where they stand compared to others. The element of competition is highlighted and the user’s changing status is emphasized. The goal – in this case to move more – is achieved through the social aspect of the challenge, the playful design of the platform, and the competitive nature of the individual. The problem – not all users are motivated by competition or a leaderboard.
A personalized gamification program takes these features to the next level. This program will identify whether or not the individual is even motivated by competition. Perhaps the user enjoys identifying and reaching personal goals through real-time social reinforcement messaging and the encouragement of daily action items by the program itself and by other users. Perhaps this user becomes de-motivated by the constant comparison to peers.
Also, most generalized games in healthcare use a generic guideline – 10,000 steps per day challenge – rather than personal milestones. While promoting activity is crucial, the number of steps should vary depending on initial fitness and health levels. It could also be that the individual isn’t interested in walking/running but prefers swimming, yoga or cycling. Maybe the user has a goal to ride down the California coast, improve the quality of a movement, or to increase their best swimming interval. Personalized gamification can allow an individual to engage in a goal – in this case a fitness goal – that interests them in a way that motivates them.
A final required feature in personalized gamification is immersion reality. The more a user can feel immersed in their virtual reality, the more engaging the experience will be. Between the visuals and messaging to the atmosphere these programs create, the user is meant to feel connected to the real life and real time information that is being conveyed. Similar to a GPS detailing where, how far and how fast you are travelling, personalized gamification in health can also involve links to other social networks where live feeds invite friends to cheer you on or share in your progress – should you wish.
How Long Will We Wait to Improve Employee Health?
Healthcare costs are soaring. While generic wellness programs are increasing in number, few have the evidence-based content, personalized engagement or dynamic features to make a dent in the frequency and severity of the chronic disease. Recently a few disease prevention programs have shown promise in educating and empowering at-risk users to make healthier lifestyle choices. These programs are progressing even further by addressing the largest contributor to success – sustained engagement and outcomes. Personalized gamification maximizes engagement via a number of techniques most notably personalizing the form of the game the user experiences, addressing the need for community, and providing an instant or real-time feedback system.
Newtopia is a disease prevention program that incorporates personalized gamification to maximize user engagement. Learn more by subscribing to our blog.
References
- http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/123/8/933.long
- http://www.diabetesadvocacyalliance.org/html/resources_diabetes_facts_future.html
- https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-outlook-why-gamification-is-serious-business.aspx