Behaviorally Designed Gamification and Physical Activity Among Breast and Prostate Cancer Survivors

What the research team wanted to know

The team wanted to test different ways to increase physical activity through walking for Black or Hispanic breast and prostate cancer survivors who may have a higher risk of heart related health problems.

What the team did

Our team recruited Black or Hispanic breast and prostate cancer survivors from two different cancer centers in the United States. Everyone received a Fitbit device to count their daily steps and was asked to set a step goal to increase their daily step count. Everyone was then randomly placed into 1 of 2 groups:

• Control group: wore the Fitbit to count daily steps and meet step goals.
• Game + support group: wore the Fitbit and signed a pledge to meet their step goals by playing a game. This group could keep or lose points and gain or drop levels depending on whether they met their daily goals. They also had a support partner to help them reach their goals. At the end of the study, the people in the highest level received a small trophy.

Everyone was asked to wear the Fitbit and sync their daily step count for 9 months. After 9 months, the researchers looked at changes in daily step count from the beginning of the study to specific time points throughout.

What the researchers learned

• Both groups increased their daily step counts across the entire 9-month study.
• The game and support group increased their daily step counts more than the control group throughout the entire study.
• Even when the game ended at 6 months, the game and support group continued to walk more during the 3-month follow up period.

Why this matters

The results suggest games can help increase walking for cancer survivors with a higher risk of heart conditions. Using games to increase walking has the potential to help improve the heart health of patients in the future.