Using Serious Games to Increase Prevention and Self-Management of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting in Older Adults With Cancer.
Victoria Wochna Loerzel, John M Clochesy, Patricia I Geddie
PMID 32830802WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults starting chemotherapy who received a nausea self-care game plus nurse debrief reported using more prevention strategies at home than controls.
They rated it useful and easy. The paper reports behavior counts, not nausea outcomes.
Key findings
01Participants randomized to the intervention reported using almost twice the number of preventive strategies as controls (1,486 versus 768), while controls reported almost twice as many self-management strategies as the intervention group (1,311 versus 681).
02Fifty-two participants completed the game evaluation and agreed or strongly agreed (mean 4 on a five-point scale) that the game was easy to play and useful for managing nausea and vomiting at home.
03Fluid intake was the most common self-management strategy, and the intervention group reported drinking more fluids at all time points than the control group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Small single-site study of mostly White, educated older adults in central Florida, so results may not apply to more diverse groups. Participants had to speak English and have a telephone, and people with visual or hearing impairment were excluded. Behavior recording varied, and not all participants reported prevention or self-management behaviors, so some home strategies are unknown. The main results are self-reported counts of behaviors, not measured nausea or vomiting outcomes. The paper describes group differences without reporting statistical tests for the behavior outcomes. The intervention included the game plus a nurse debrief, on top of standard chemotherapy education and follow-up calls, so the game alone cannot be credited with the behavior differences.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types list research support from N.I.H., Extramural. The article text does not include an author conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the serious game alone prevented chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. The reported outcomes were self-recorded prevention and self-management behaviors, not nausea or vomiting results, and the intervention included a nurse debrief plus standard education and follow-up calls, so the game's separate contribution cannot be isolated.