Kleschnitzki Jana Marina, Grossmann Inga, Beyer Reinhard, Beyer Luzi
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Department of Science, All About Me GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
JMIR Serious Games. 2022 May 10;10(2):e36768. doi: 10.2196/36768.
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of low-threshold opportunities for exercise and physical activity. At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to many restrictions, which affected seniors in care facilities in the form of severe isolation. The isolation led, among other things, to a lack of exercise, which has led to a multitude of negative effects for this target group. Serious games can potentially help by being used anywhere at any time to strengthen skills with few resources.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a serious game to strengthen motor skills (study 1) and the influence of pandemic restrictions (study 2) on seniors in care facilities.
The data on motor skills (measured by the Tinetti test) originated from an intervention study with repeated measurements that was interrupted by the pandemic conditions. Data were collected 4 times every 3 months with an intervention group (IG, training 3 times for 1 hour per week) and a control group (CG, no intervention). There were 2 substudies. The first considered the first 6 months until the pandemic restrictions, while the second considered the influence of the restrictions on motor skills.
The sample size was 70. The IG comprised 31 (44%) participants, with 22 (71%) female and 9 (29%) male seniors with an average age of 85 years. The CG comprised 39 (56%) participants, with 31 (79%) female and 8 (21%) male seniors with an average age of 87 years. In study 1, mixed-design ANOVA showed no significant interaction between measurement times and group membership for the first measurements (F=1.414, P<.25, partial η2=.044), but there was a significant difference between the CG (mean 16.23, SD 1.1) and the IG (mean 19.81, SD 1.2) at the third time of measurement (P=.02). In study 2 the mixed-design ANOVA (used to investigate motor skills before and after the pandemic conditions between the 2 groups) couldn't reveal any significant interaction between measurement times and group membership: F=2.997, P<.09, partial η2=.043. However, there was a significant main effect of the time of measurement: F=5.44, P<.02, partial η²=.075.
During the first 6 months, the IG showed increased motor skills, whereas the motor skills of the CG slightly deteriorated and showed a statistically significant difference after 6 months. The pandemic restrictions leveled the difference and showed a significant negative effect on motor skills over 3 months. As our results show, digital games have the potential to break down access barriers and promote necessary maintenance for important skills. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of low-threshold opportunities for exercise and physical activity. This potentially great benefit for the challenges of tomorrow shows the relevance of the topic and demonstrates the urgent need for action and research.
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这场疫情凸显了提供低门槛锻炼和体育活动机会的重要性。2020年初，新冠疫情导致诸多限制措施，这些措施以严重隔离的形式影响了护理机构中的老年人。这种隔离尤其导致了缺乏锻炼，给这一目标群体带来了诸多负面影响。严肃游戏有可能通过随时随地使用少量资源来强化技能而有所帮助。
本研究旨在评估一款严肃游戏对强化护理机构中老年人运动技能的有效性（研究1）以及疫情限制措施（研究2）对他们的影响。
运动技能数据（通过Tinetti测试测量）来自一项重复测量的干预研究，该研究因疫情状况而中断。每3个月收集4次数据，设有干预组（IG，每周训练3次，每次1小时）和对照组（CG，无干预）。有两项子研究。第一项考虑疫情限制措施实施前的前6个月，第二项考虑限制措施对运动技能的影响。
样本量为70。干预组有31名（44%）参与者，其中22名（71%）为老年女性，9名（29%）为老年男性，平均年龄85岁。对照组有39名（56%）参与者，其中31名（79%）为老年女性，8名（21%）为老年男性，平均年龄87岁。在研究1中，混合设计方差分析显示，首次测量时测量时间与组成员之间无显著交互作用（F = 1.414，P <.25，偏η² =.044），但在第三次测量时，对照组（均值16.23，标准差1.1）和干预组（均值19.81，标准差1.2）之间存在显著差异（P =.02）。在研究2中，混合设计方差分析（用于调查两组在疫情状况前后的运动技能）未揭示测量时间与组成员之间有任何显著交互作用：F = 2.997，P <.09，偏η² =.043。然而，测量时间有显著的主效应：F = 5.44，P <.02，偏η² =.075。
在最初的6个月里，干预组的运动技能有所提高，而对照组的运动技能略有下降，6个月后显示出统计学上的显著差异。疫情限制措施消除了这种差异，并在3个月内对运动技能产生了显著的负面影响。正如我们的结果所示，数字游戏有可能打破获取障碍，并促进对重要技能的必要维持。疫情凸显了提供低门槛锻炼和体育活动机会的重要性。这对未来挑战潜在的巨大益处表明了该主题的相关性，并表明了采取行动和开展研究的迫切需求。
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