{"id":32315,"date":"2014-09-16T09:27:13","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T08:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=32315"},"modified":"2014-09-16T09:27:13","modified_gmt":"2014-09-16T08:27:13","slug":"the-bmj-today-medicines-have-a-new-competitor-gamification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2014\/09\/16\/the-bmj-today-medicines-have-a-new-competitor-gamification\/","title":{"rendered":"The BMJ Today: Medicines have a new competitor\u2014gamification"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2012\/04\/30\/zosia-kmietowicz-leaping-out-of-inequalities-the-power-of-imaginative-play\/zosiak\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-16707\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-16707\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2012\/04\/zosiak.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a>Gamification is a theory, not just a trend. It is the use of game mechanics to solve real world problems, and that includes those that originate in the body. If the word instils in you a sense of fear and dread\u2014as it did in me\u2014look no further than <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/349\/bmj.g5615\">this Feature by Stephen Armstrong<\/a> to feel confident about talking gamification with your colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>Anxiety in children, adherence to cancer medication, physiotherapy exercises, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, schizophrenia, and obesity have all been targeted with specially designed games. Gamification\u2019s efficacy in medicine is largely unknown. But investment in research is growing.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Olivier Oullier, from Aix-Marseille University, is unequivocal in pointing out the benefits. \u201cWhen kids don\u2019t concentrate in school we tend to rely on pharmacology,\u201d he argues. \u201cBut pills are not the only solution\u2014cognitive brain therapy is as effective. The games industry is as big as the pharma industry and it can develop new games in months rather than the years it takes to develop new drugs. Developing new ways for kids to learn through gamification has to be better for society than another prescription for Ritalin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere on\u00a0thebmj.com <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/349\/bmj.g4531\">the latest State of the Art Review<\/a> looks at urinary incontinence in women. The Clinical Review summarises the full range of treatment options from lifestyle changes and pelvic floor exercises through to drug therapy, intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA injections, slings, and meshes.<\/p>\n<p>Urinary incontinence is common and expensive, in both human and economic terms. In the US it is estimated to cost $32bn a year. The treatment landscape has changed for many patients, say Lauren Wood and Jennifer Anger. An invaluable read.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Zosia Kmietowicz<\/strong>\u00a0is a freelance journalist at The BMJ.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gamification is a theory, not just a trend. It is the use of game mechanics to solve real world problems, and that includes those that originate in the body. If [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2014\/09\/16\/the-bmj-today-medicines-have-a-new-competitor-gamification\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447,5750],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-india","category-the-bmj-today"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The BMJ Today: Medicines have a new competitor\u2014gamification - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2014\/09\/16\/the-bmj-today-medicines-have-a-new-competitor-gamification\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The BMJ Today: Medicines have a new competitor\u2014gamification - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gamification is a theory, not just a trend. 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