Social Gaming to Decrease Loneliness in Older Adults: Recruitment Challenges and Attrition Analysis in a Digital Mixed Methods Feasibility Study

Autor: Bas D L Châtel, Jeroen H M Janssen, Geeske M E E Peeters, Rense Corten, Rob Tieben, Menno Deen, Elmy J M Hendriks, Marcel G M Olde Rikkert
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: JMIR Serious Games, Vol 12, p e52640 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2291-9279
DOI: 10.2196/52640
Popis: BackgroundDigital mental health interventions could sustainably and scalably prevent and reduce loneliness in older adults. We designed an app containing 29 text-based games and a questionnaire-administering chatbot to stimulate intergenerational contact. ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the feasibility of a social gaming app in reducing loneliness among older adults by evaluating recruitment strategies, data collection procedures, and gameplay activity. MethodsThis mixed methods study recruited participants via newsletters, articles, and a social media campaign. We used semistructured interviews and descriptive analysis of questionnaire answers and game data to assess feasibility. Key measures included recruitment reach and efficiency, participant demographics, in-app activity, and app usability and engagement feedback. ResultsThe social media campaign reached 192,641 potential participants, resulting in 1363 game downloads. A total of 155 participants (aged 65 years and older: n=34, 21.9% and aged less than 65 years: n=121, 78.1%) provided informed consent, yielding a conversion rate of 0.08%. The recruitment campaign focusing on distanced playful interaction had a significantly (P
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