Games for Health Conference Opens Tomorrow

Games for Health Conference Opens Tomorrow

May 7, 2008
More than 300 people will attend the Games For Health Conference. The event opens tomorrow in Baltimore.

From the GFH press release:
The conference will explore the intersection of next-generation game technologies and health issues... attendees will participate in over 60 sessions provided by an international array of 75 speakers, cutting across a wide range of activities in health and health care.

Topics include exergaming, physical therapy, disease management, health behavior change, biofeedback, epidemiology, training, cognitive exercise, nutrition and health education.

Presenters include Dr. Richard Satava; Starlight Foundation; HopeLab; Realtime Associates; Virtual Heroes; XRtainment Zone; Archimage; Dr. Mark Baldwin of MindHabits; Electric Owl Studios; Noah Falstein of The Inspiracy; and Games for Health
co-founder Ben Sawyer.

The Games for Health Project was founded in 2004 and supports community, knowledge and business development efforts to employ game tech in order to improve health and health care. The conference press release describes the Games for Health Project as:
...produced by the Serious Games Initiative, a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars effort that applies cutting-edge games and game technologies to a range of public and private policy, leadership and management issues...

As a kickoff to the GFH Conference, a special news briefing for bloggers will be held at 1PM Eastern on Thursday:
The latest "gaming for health" trends -- including "exergaming," health elements in popular commercial games (e.g., a "disease" being unleashed inadvertently on the population in "World of Warcraft") and sophisticated, new videogames used to train emergency medical personnel -- will be outlined during a live, two-way phone-based blogger/online news event...

The blogger news event will feature Ben Sawyer, Games for Health Project co-founder and Chinwe Onyekere, program officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio.

Comments

ten bucks says that wii fit will be there
[...] wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMore than 300 people will attend the Games For Health Conference. The event opens tomorrow in Baltimore. From the GFH press release: The conference will explore the intersection of next-generation game technologies and health issues… attendees will participate in over 60 sessions provided by an international array of 75 speakers, cutting across a wide range of activities in health and health care. Topics include exergaming, physical therapy, disease management, health behavior change, biofeedback, epidemiology, training, cognitive exercise, nutrition and health education. [...]
I would like to know how the brain works in stressful gaming moments.
biofeedback, eh? i wonder how far it has come...
I remember seeing an exercise game, about 9 years ago. It was essentially an exercise bike attached to a monitor with 2 old-school joy-sticks. It was a tank game, and the way you moved was by pedalling.

After I got the hang of it (took 2 games of constant dying to get the hang of it), I was able to survive for about 15 minutes . . . didn't even notice my legs had turned to jello in the process.

They should make an effort to bring those types of games into the fold: maybe have a full-body work-out machine, like a mech-suit. Kind of like the one in the original Alien movie, but perhaps the actual game part of it would be like a "Gundam" type premise.

Its so easy to come up with ideas for "exergaming", surprised it never really took off. I look forward to seeing more of those kinds of things: it has the potential to really help society.
@BB

Agreed. Logic would indicate that to get kids to excercize, make it fun instead of a chore.
First post owes me 10 Bucks. Sadly they are really focused on next weeks launch. It's here only in spirit...
i have never herd of this before and it sounds interesting. Games like Wii fit and games that have an active use of the Wiimote are good games to promote health. Also dancing game are good for people's heal;th too.
jesse, there are findings from a Finish (IIRC) study (which you can find on the GP archives) that showed that gamers felt 'relieved' after dying while playing an FPS. So I assume, that while the body may display some of the stress symptoms during 'stressful' situations in gaming, once the stress is taken away I presume it releases endorphins or some other similar neurochemical.
I spoke at last year's GFH and thought it was a great experience. You'd be amazed at the kinds of far-reaching applications gaming has in the healthcare industry.

Wish I coulda been there this year, Ben, but I'm three weeks out from Graduation and just don't have the time... :(

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Posted 08/30/08 at 01:04am
Brokenscope: No they can't legally drink. But the bars near most bases don't give a fuck.
Posted 08/29/08 at 11:11pm
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Posted 08/29/08 at 03:21pm
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Posted 08/29/08 at 02:50pm
Dark Sovereign: I have one question: Why are soldiers constantly treated as victims and children?
Posted 08/29/08 at 02:45pm
Dark Sovereign: @thefremen: Glad to see you haven't left the past yet. I'll wait until you're in 2008.
Posted 08/29/08 at 02:18pm
Meggie: *doing
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ZippyDSMlee: feeman:DS is saying goverment would exspand more if the duims get in, he's probly right.
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:51am
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Posted 08/29/08 at 10:51am
thefremen: LOL, yes, the government has not expanded at all in the last 8 years, especially not for the benefit of corporate entities.
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:43am
ZippyDSMlee: DS- http://forums.theeca.com/showthread.php?p=84679#post84679 In OT BTW
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:32am
ZippyDSMlee: Dark Sovereign: Sure ^^
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:29am
Dark Sovereign: @zip: Make the thread. I'm just not active there.
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:28am
SimonBob: Heh, I was just playing with the semantics for my own amusement, not trying to shoehorn my way into the argument.
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:28am
ZippyDSMlee: Dark Sovereign: Iwish you would join the forums so we can have a full conversation these shouts are stifling!
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:27am
ZippyDSMlee: Dark Sovereign:force them into the wilderness to die off...this is the reality of not taking into account what to do with the lower classes.
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:26am
Dark Sovereign: @zip: What are you talking about? Less government means less taxes. Less taxes means more money in average Joe's pockets.
Posted 08/29/08 at 10:26am
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Posted 08/29/08 at 10:22am
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Posted 08/29/08 at 10:22am
Dark Sovereign: You ASSUME that not giving tons of handouts to people will make them poor. America itself shows you are wrong.
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