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International Conference on Human Factors in Computing and Informatics

SouthCHI 2013: Human Factors in Computing and Informatics pp 349–362Cite as

Increase Physical Fitness and Create Health Awareness through Exergames and Gamification

The Role of Individual Factors, Motivation and Acceptance

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Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNPSE,volume 7946)

Abstract

Demographic change and the aging population push health and welfare system to its limits. Increased physical fitness and increased awareness for health issues will help elderly to live independently for longer and will thereby reduce the costs in the health care system. Exergames seem to be a promising solution for promoting physical fitness. Still, there is little evidence under what conditions Exergames will be accepted and used by elderly. To investigate promoting and hindering factors we conducted a user study with a prototype of an Exergame. We contrasted young vs. elderly players and investigated the role of gamer types, personality factors and technical expertise on the performance within the game and changes in the attitude towards individual health after the game. Surprisingly, performance within the game is not affected by performance motivation but by gamer type. More importantly, a universal positive effect on perceived pain is detected after the Exergame intervention.

Keywords

  • Exergame
  • Health Awareness
  • Design For All
  • Gamer types
  • Physical Fitness
  • User Acceptance
  • Gamification

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human-Computer Interaction Center, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

    Philipp Brauner, André Calero Valdez & Martina Ziefle

  2. Computer-Supported Learning Research Group, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

    Ulrik Schroeder

Authors
  1. Philipp Brauner
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  2. André Calero Valdez
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  3. Ulrik Schroeder
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  4. Martina Ziefle
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation (IMI), Medical University Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 2/V, 8036, Graz, Austria

    Andreas Holzinger

  2. Human-Computer Interaction Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    Martina Ziefle

  3. Institute of Informatics Systems, Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Universitätsstrasse 65-67, 9020, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Martin Hitz

  4. Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia

    Matjaž Debevc

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Brauner, P., Calero Valdez, A., Schroeder, U., Ziefle, M. (2013). Increase Physical Fitness and Create Health Awareness through Exergames and Gamification. In: Holzinger, A., Ziefle, M., Hitz, M., Debevc, M. (eds) Human Factors in Computing and Informatics. SouthCHI 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7946. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-39061-6

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