Samson Laurent, Carcreff Lena, Noublanche Frédéric, Noublanche Sophie, Vermersch-Leiber Hélène, Annweiler Cédric
Department of Medical and Rehabilitation Care, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France.
Research Center on Autonomy and Longevity, Angers Living Lab in Hospital Geriatrics (Allegro), Department of Geriatric Medicine and Memory Clinic, Angers University Hospital, 4 rue Larey, Angers, 49100, France.
JMIR Serious Games. 2025 Jan 6;13:e57030. doi: 10.2196/57030.
Reminiscence therapy through music is a psychosocial intervention with benefits for older patients with neurocognitive disorders. Therapies using virtual or augmented reality are efficient in ecologically assessing, and eventually training, episodic memory in older populations. We designed a semi-immersive musical game called "A Life in Songs," which invites patients to immerse themselves in a past era through visuals and songs from that time period. The game aspires to become a playful, easy-to-use, and complete tool for the assessment, rehabilitation, and prevention of neurocognitive decline associated with aging.
This study aimed to assess the user experience (UX) associated with the newly designed serious game.
After one or several sessions of the game guided by the therapist, patients of the geriatric wards were asked to answer questions selected from 2 widely known UX scales (AttrakDiff and meCUE [modular evaluation of the components of user experience]) with the therapist's help. The internal consistency of the UX dimensions was assessed through Cronbach α to verify the validity of the dimensions. The level of engagement of the patient throughout the experimental session was also assessed following an internally developed scale, which included 5 levels (interactive, constructive, active, passive, and disengaged behaviors). UX mean scores were computed and presented graphically. Verbal feedbacks were reported to support the quantitative results.
Overall, 60 inpatients with a mean age of 84.2 (SD 5.5) years, the majority of whom were women (41/60, 68%), were included. Their score on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) ranged between 12 and 29. A majority of patients (27/56, 48%) had no major neurocognitive disorder (MNCD), 22/56 (39%) had mild MNCD, and 7/56 (13%) had moderate MNCD. The results revealed very positive UX with mean values beyond the neutral values for every UX dimension of both scales. The overall mean (SD) judgment was rated 3.92 (SD 0.87) (on a scale of -5 to 5). Internal consistency was acceptable to good for the emotional dimensions of the meCUE. Questionable to unacceptable consistency was found for the other UX dimensions. Participants were mostly active (23/60, 38%) and constructive (21/60, 35%).
These findings demonstrated a very good appreciation of the game by geriatric inpatients. Participants' and health care professionals' verbal comments strongly aligned with the quantitative results. The poor internal consistency in the UX dimensions reflected the high heterogeneity among the included patients. Further studies are needed to evaluate the potential benefits of clinical factors such as neurocognitive functions, mood, depression, or quality of life.
通过音乐进行的怀旧疗法是一种心理社会干预措施，对患有神经认知障碍的老年患者有益。使用虚拟现实或增强现实的疗法在生态评估以及最终训练老年人群的情景记忆方面很有效。我们设计了一款名为“歌曲中的一生”的半沉浸式音乐游戏，邀请患者通过那个时期的视觉效果和歌曲沉浸在过去的时代。该游戏渴望成为一个有趣、易于使用且完整的工具，用于评估、康复和预防与衰老相关的神经认知衰退。
本研究旨在评估与新设计的严肃游戏相关的用户体验（UX）。
在治疗师指导下进行一到几轮游戏后，老年病房的患者在治疗师的帮助下回答从两个广为人知的用户体验量表（AttrakDiff和meCUE [用户体验组件的模块化评估]）中选出的问题。通过克朗巴赫α系数评估用户体验维度的内部一致性，以验证维度的有效性。还根据内部制定的量表评估患者在整个实验过程中的参与程度，该量表包括5个级别（互动、建设性、主动、被动和脱离行为）。计算用户体验平均得分并以图形方式呈现。报告了口头反馈以支持定量结果。
总体而言，纳入了60名住院患者，平均年龄为84.2（标准差5.5）岁，其中大多数为女性（41/60，68%）。他们的简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）得分在12至29之间。大多数患者（27/56，48%）没有重大神经认知障碍（MNCD），22/56（39%）患有轻度MNCD，7/56（13%）患有中度MNCD。结果显示用户体验非常积极，两个量表的每个用户体验维度的平均值都超过了中性值。总体平均（标准差）评分为3.92（标准差0.87）（范围为-5至5）。meCUE的情感维度的内部一致性可接受至良好。其他用户体验维度的一致性则可疑至不可接受。参与者大多表现为主动（23/60，38%）和建设性（21/60，35%）。
这些发现表明老年住院患者对该游戏评价很高。参与者和医疗保健专业人员的口头评论与定量结果高度一致。用户体验维度中较差的内部一致性反映了纳入患者之间的高度异质性。需要进一步研究来评估神经认知功能、情绪、抑郁或生活质量等临床因素的潜在益处。
