Let’s Play: Motivate Healthy Behavior Using Games
When it comes to health and wellness programs, patient engagement is often the coveted yet elusive brass ring. Despite all the clinical expertise that goes into developing systems for patient care and education, non-compliance and lack of sustained patient involvement in these programs remain high. So how could something seemingly trivial like games improve patient engagement and consequently, health care outcomes? This panel will explore how health is social and how playing games with others can keep us engaged and motivated when it comes to changing our behaviour in positive ways.
Presenters
Adam L. Penenberg is a journalism professor and assistant director of the Business and Economic Program at New York University. A contributing writer to Fast Company, he has also written for Inc., Forbes, The New York Times, Slate, Wired, Economist, Techcrunch, and Mother Jones. A former senior editor at Forbes and reporter for Forbes.com, Penenberg garnered national attention in 1998 for unmasking serial fabricator Stephen Glass of The New Republic. Penenberg's story was a watershed for online investigative journalism and is portrayed in the film "Shattered Glass" (Steve Zahn plays Penenberg). His most recent book, Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today's Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves (Hyperion, 2009), has been published in the U.S., U.K., Brazil, Japan and Korea, and will soon come out in China.
Leslie A. Saxon, M.D., is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, specializing in the ddiagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias in patients with congestive heart failure. After serving as the director of the electrophysiology laboratory and implantable device services at UC San Francisco, Dr. Saxon was recruited to serve as the Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at USC.
In addition to using state-of-the-art resynchronization devices in patients with arrhythmias, such as modified pacemakers and implantable defribrillators, Dr. Saxon also collaborates with medical device companies to evaluate the latest, most innovative interventional gadgets for patients with difficult-to-treat heart failure.
In 2010, Dr. Saxon formed the USC Center for Body Computing. The Center aims to accelerate the successful development of ideas and innovative products in the wireless health space through cross-disciplinary work with various USC programs in partnership with industry leaders and venture capitalists in biotechnology, telecommunications, entertainment and design. The Center collaborates with USC schools and programs including the Keck School of Medicine, Viterbi School of Engineering, School of Cinematic Arts, and the Marshall School of Business, as well as USC Stevens Institute for Innovation and the Institute for Creative Technologies. The USC Center for Body Computing is the most comprehensive center for wireless health in academia. Dr. Saxon also hosts an annual Body Computing Conference which brings together leading authors and futurists as well as leaders from the fields of medicine, design, entertainment, the FDA, investment banking, and pharmaceuticals for a day of intense discussions about the nascent but exciting field of wireless physiologic monitoring.
Dr. Saxon has completed over 90 publications in various medical journals and is an active member of a multitude of organizations, including the American College of Cardiology, the Heart Rhythm Society, The American Heart Association, and the Heart Failure Society of America.
On Twitter @DrLeslieSaxon
Michael is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Ayogo Games Inc., and is dedicated to the idea that playing is one of the most productive things we can do. He’s been an entrepreneur and innovator on the Web for over 15 years, and the games he has developed have been played by millions on computers and Smartphones all over the world. This year, Michael has been invited to speak on game design at SXSW, Vancouver’s F5 Expo, Games and Health – Vid Week, Banff Television Festival and NextMedia in Toronto, and has been featured by the Vancouver Sun, Fast Company, MIT Technology Review, CBC, and the Globe and Mail. Michael lives in Vancouver with his beautiful wife and four amazing children.
I am a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia studying Human-Computer Interaction as it pertains to Health. I am enrolled in Electrical and Computer Engineering. For my PhD, I am designing an online social network, VivoSpace, to promote positive health behaviour change.
I am a Professional Engineer registered in the province of British Columbia (BC). I am also a Quality Leader at the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council.
Tuesday, March 13
