CIGNA Insurance and the nonprofit organization HopeLab teamed up to produce Re-Mission, a serious video game for young cancer patients. Courtney Perkes with the Orange County Register reports:
The game was designed by animators, video game makers, cell biologists and teen boys with cancer, and it features a buxom nanorobot named Roxxi. In the hands of young cancer patients, she zooms through “the world’s smallest battlefield” with her chemo blaster and radiation gun.
The video game has a serious agenda, teaching young cancer patients about treatments and therapy regimens:
Throughout the game, patients learn about side effects from chemo. In one scenario, after Roxxi blasts away cancer cells, she helps a patient take deep breaths to combat nausea.
HopeLab performed a study of effects Re-Mission had on patients. A total of 325 subjects, aged 13-29, in 34 medical facilities throughout North American and Australia participated. The study found the game helped patients adhere to therapy regimens. I can’t see if the research was ever published in a peer-reviewed journal, but it apparently was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine last year and at the International Conference on Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Medicine in London. You can read about the study on CIGNA’s site here.
Re-Mission is available for free by mail, on either CD or DVD. The game is offered in English, Spanish, or French. Visit http://www.re-mission.net/ to order direct. The game is rated T.
References
Perkes, C. (2007, July 11). New video game helps teen with cancer. Orange County Register. [Online]. Available: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/
countywide/article_1722660.php
July 21, 2007 at 11:44 pm |
[...] Young Cancer Patients Learn Through Re-MissionThe game was designed by animators, video game makers, cell biologists and teen boys with cancer, and it features a buxom nanorobot named Roxxi. In the hands of young cancer patients, she zooms through the world s smallest battlefield … [...]
July 26, 2007 at 2:12 pm |
This is a great resource for educational games. Great site allot of good information. Most people dont put so much effort into thier sites. Found what i was looking for just wanted to show some appreciation.
August 1, 2007 at 7:44 pm |
[...] Daily had a nice article on Re-mission today, with more details than what I was able to confer last time I blogged about the game. Re-mission is a serious video game designed to educate young cancer patients about [...]
September 9, 2007 at 9:23 pm |
[...] among health insurers concerning serious medical video games. I blogged previously about Re-mission here and here. Recall that CIGNA was one of the major forces behind the Re-mission effort, partnering [...]
September 13, 2007 at 7:16 pm |
[...] 13, 2007Late breaking news Young Cancer Patients Learn Through Re-Mission Young Cancer Patients Learn Through Re-Mission The <b>game</b> was designed by animators, video <b>game</b> makers, cell [...]
January 16, 2008 at 10:07 pm |
[...] 16, 2008He seemed hardly to know what he was doing Young Cancer Patients Learn Through Re-Mission Young Cancer Patients Learn Through Re-Mission The <b>game</b> was designed by animators, video <b>game</b> makers, cell [...]