Development of Cognitive and Physical Exercise Systems, Clinical Recordings, Large-Scale Data Analytics, and Virtual Coaching for Heart Failure Patients: Protocol for the BioTechCOACH-ForALL Project

Exergames in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for patients with heart failure: a systematic review

AIM

The aim of this study was to systematically review the current literature on the use of exergames as an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention for patients with heart failure.

METHODS

PubMed, SCOPUS and CINAHL Plus databases were searched from January 2007 to August 2023. Studies considered eligible for inclusion had to report one or more of the following outcomes: functional capacity (e.g. VO2 max), quality of life, mortality, hospital admissions, physical activity level, and engagement/satisfaction of the intervention. Only studies reported in English were included. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for their eligibility.

RESULTS

Two studies (in four reports) were included. Included studies reported only data on functional capacity (6-min walking test) and on physical activity level (accelerometers). Due to the low number of included studies, no meta-analysis was performed, and results were discussed narratively.

CONCLUSION

Exergames may potentially be a promising tool for exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation in patients with heart failure; however, the low number of included studies was insufficient to drawn proper conclusions. Benefits of exergames compared with traditional interventions could be the possibility of it being delivered at home, reducing some of the barriers that patients with heart failure must face. Further studies are required to assess the efficacy of exergame interventions in patients with heart failure, and to define proper guidelines to deliver exergame interventions in this population.This systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023446948).

Nursing capacity building in health coaching with hospitalised chronic heart failure patients: a quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Difficulty in adherence to treatment and self-care behaviours is a leading cause of preventable readmission in people with chronic heart failure (CHF). Although there is evidence of benefits of health coaching for the management of this situation, few interventions have been tested in the hospital setting.

AIM

To evaluate a coaching programme (H-Coaching) designed to develop nursing capacity in health coaching for chronic heart failure inpatients.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental pre-post study including all nurses in a single centre cardiology ward (N = 19). The intervention consisted of two training packages: (1) five theoretical-practical sessions on health-coaching competencies, emotional intelligence, communication and support of chronic heart failure patients in their illness in the hospital setting; and (2) training sessions seven months after the first training package to reinforce the theoretical and practical knowledge. On four occasions, the Competence Instrument of Health Education for the Nursing professional was used to measure nurses' knowledge, skills and attitudes in health coaching for chronic heart failure patients.

RESULTS

The difference between the preintervention and postintervention scores were statistically significant for knowledge [mean difference = 1.00 (95% CI -1.45 to -0.51; p = 0.000)], skills in general [mean difference = 0.50 (95% CI -1.41 to -0.21; p = 0.015)] and personal/social skills [mean difference = 1.00 (95% CI -1.10 to -0.01; p = 0.048)]. While attitudinal and affective domains did not differ, there were differences in knowledge and skills.

CONCLUSION

The H-Coaching programme proved to be effective for building nursing capacity in health coaching CHF inpatients. Similar programmes designed to improve knowledge in verbal and nonverbal communication techniques, and skills for coaching interventions adapted to meet the needs of individual patients, should be tested in future interventional experimental studies.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT05300880.

IMPACT STATEMENT

To our knowledge, this is the first nursing training intervention in health coaching for chronic heart failure the inpatient setting. This study has demonstrate improvements in both the knowledge and personal and social skills of cardiology nurses with regard to the development of health coaching in a hospital setting. Given the study design, further research is warranted.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY

Many patients with chronic heart failure have problems in adhering to the treatment and self-care behaviours and this is one of the main causes of preventable readmission. To promote self-care, patients need to be empowered to integrate these habits into their daily lives and we should implement innovative strategies to achieve this. Health coaching is an ideal alternative to this but very few nurses in the hospital cardiology setting are experienced in health coaching. Our study has shown preliminary results demonstrating that a structured theoretical and practical training programme for nurses can improve nurses' knowledge and skills in health coaching for inpatient patients with chronic heart failure. This study provides an opportunity for future research to demonstrate whether nurses with this training have a positive impact on the health outcomes of chronic heart failure patients and, more specifically, on their levels of self-care and empowerment.

Conceptual Ambiguity Surrounding Gamification and Serious Games in Health Care: Literature Review and Development of Game-Based Intervention Reporting Guidelines (GAMING)

BACKGROUND

In health care, the use of game-based interventions to increase motivation, engagement, and overall sustainability of health behaviors is steadily becoming more common. The most prevalent types of game-based interventions in health care research are gamification and serious games. Various researchers have discussed substantial conceptual differences between these 2 concepts, supported by empirical studies showing differences in the effects on specific health behaviors. However, researchers also frequently report cases in which terms related to these 2 concepts are used ambiguously or even interchangeably. It remains unclear to what extent existing health care research explicitly distinguishes between gamification and serious games and whether it draws on existing conceptual considerations to do so.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to address this lack of knowledge by capturing the current state of conceptualizations of gamification and serious games in health care research. Furthermore, we aim to provide tools for researchers to disambiguate the reporting of game-based interventions.

METHODS

We used a 2-step research approach. First, we conducted a systematic literature review of 206 studies, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research and its sister journals, containing terms related to gamification, serious games, or both. We analyzed their conceptualizations of gamification and serious games, as well as the distinctions between the two concepts. Second, based on the literature review findings, we developed a set of guidelines for researchers reporting on game-based interventions and evaluated them with a group of 9 experts from the field.

RESULTS

Our results show that less than half of the concept mentions are accompanied by an explicit definition. To distinguish between the 2 concepts, we identified four common approaches: implicit distinction, synonymous use of terms, serious games as a type of gamified system, and distinction based on the full game dimension. Our Game-Based Intervention Reporting Guidelines (GAMING) consist of 25 items grouped into four topics: conceptual focus, contribution, mindfulness about related concepts, and individual concept definitions.

CONCLUSIONS

Conceptualizations of gamification and serious games in health care literature are strongly heterogeneous, leading to conceptual ambiguity. Following the GAMING can support authors in rigorous reporting on study results of game-based interventions.