On July 5th, GI members Dr. John Muñoz (J&F Alliance), Dr. Lili Liu (Dean of Faculty of Health), andDr. Michael Barnett-Cowan (Kinesiology and Health Sciences) participated in a panel that focused on the use of games within health research.
The three speakers have a wide range of diverse research related to public health and technology. Dr. Muñoz is looking at how virtual reality (VR) technologies can be used to encourage exercise among the aging population. Dr. Liu has a background in occupational therapy and within academia, she leads research initiatives into developing games to aid patients living with dementia. Dr. Barnett-Cowan's work with biophysical sensors and cognition has led him to work on researching how people's brains change as they age and how those factors should be taken into account within the research design.
Over the course of the panel, the participants spoke on their understanding of games, both within how the public understands them, and how they use these forms of play, interactivity, and games to improve the lives of the people they work with. The discussion focused on how games can be utilized within health and medical practices.