Application of gamified mobile health to enhance postoperative rehabilitation compliance in total joint arthroplasty patients
Keywords:
Gamification, Mobile Health, Postoperative Rehabilitation Compliance, Total Joint ArthroplastyAbstract
Background: Adherence to home-based rehabilitation protocols after Total Joint Arthroplasty (TJA) is a critical determinant of optimal functional recovery. However, patients frequently demonstrate poor compliance due to lack of motivation and boredom. Gamification strategies incorporated into mobile health (mHealth) applications offer an innovative approach to boost patient engagement. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of gamified mobile health application in enhancing postoperative rehabilitation compliance in total joint arthroplasty patients. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a convenient sample of 80 patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty patients from the orthopedic department and outpatient physical therapy at Sohag University Hospitals. Participants were allocated into two equal groups (40 patients in the experimental group and 40 patients in the control group). The experimental group utilized a customized mHealth embedded with gamification elements (progress tracking, rewards, and interactive badges) for home rehabilitation, while the control group received standard paper-based home exercise instructions. Baseline (pre-test) clinical measurements, including: Demographic and Clinical Data Questionnaire, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for Pain Intensity, Rehabilitation Adherence Tracking Log, and System Usability Scale (SUS) were conducted and compared between both groups at 6 weeks and 3 months postoperatively.
Downloads
References
Al-Amiry, B., Rahim, A., Knutsson, B., Mattisson, L., & Sayed-Noor, A. (2022). Kinesiophobia and its association with functional outcome and quality of life 6-8 years after total hip arthroplasty. Acta orthopaedica et traumatologica turcica, 56(4), 252–255. https://doi.org/10.5152/j.aott.2022.21318 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5152/j.aott.2022.21318
Allam, A., Kostova, Z., Nakamoto, K., & Schulz, P. J. (2015). The effect of social support features and gamification on a Web-based intervention for rheumatoid arthritis patients: randomized controlled trial. Journal of medical Internet research, 17(1), e14. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3510 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3510
Alzakri, A. A., Alsultan, O. A., Alhuqbani, M. N., Aldosari, Z. A., Alghadir, O. M., Aldosari, O. A., Alshehri, B. F., & Alsaleh, K. A. (2022). Barriers and facilitators to physiotherapy among adult orthopedic patients at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Saudi medical journal, 44(7), 679–686. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2023.44.7.20230276
Argent, R., Daly, A., & Caulfield, B. (2018). Patient Involvement With Home-Based Exercise Programs: Can Connected Health Interventions Influence Adherence?. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 6(3), e47. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.8518 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.8518
Artz, N., Elvers, K. T., Lowe, C. M., Sackley, C., Jepson, P., & Beswick, A. D. (2015). Effectiveness of physiotherapy exercise following total knee replacement: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 16, 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-015-0469-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-015-0469-6
Bellamy, N., Buchanan, W. W., Goldsmith, C. H., Campbell, J., & Stitt, L. W. (1988). Validation study of WOMAC: a health status instrument for measuring clinically important patient relevant outcomes to antirheumatic drug therapy in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee. The Journal of rheumatology, 15(12), 1833–1840.
Brooke, J. (1996). SUS-A quick and dirty usability scale. Usability Evaluation in Industry, 189(194), 4–7.
Büttner, M., Mayer, A. M., Büchler, B., Betz, U., Drees, P., & Susanne, S. (2020). Economic analyses of fast-track total hip and knee arthroplasty: a systematic review. European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie, 30(1), 67–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-019-02540-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-019-02540-1
Chao, Y. Y., Scherer, Y. K., & Montgomery, C. A. (2015). Effects of using Nintendo Wii™ exergames in older adults: a review of the literature. Journal of aging and health, 27(3), 379–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264314551171 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264314551171
Cugelman B. (2013). Gamification: what it is and why it matters to digital health behavior change developers. JMIR serious games, 1(1), e3. https://doi.org/10.2196/games.3139 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/games.3139
Dionisi, S., Giannetta, N., Di Simone, E., Ricciardi, F., Liquori, G., De Leo, A., Moretti, L., Napoli, C., Di Muzio, M., & Orsi, G. B. (2021). The Use of mHealth in Orthopedic Surgery: A Scoping Review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(23), 12549. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312549 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312549
Free, C., Phillips, G., Watson, L., Galli, L., Felix, L., Edwards, P., Patel, V., & Haines, A. (2013). The effectiveness of mobile-health technologies to improve health care service delivery processes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS medicine, 10(1), e1001363. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001363 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001363
Gränicher, P., Mulder, L., Lenssen, T., Scherr, J., Swanenburg, J., & de Bie, R. (2022). Prehabilitation improves knee functioning before and within the first year after total knee arthroplasty: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 52(11), 709–725. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2022.11160
https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2022.11160
Hawker, G. A., Mian, S., Kendzerska, T., & French, M. (2011). Measures of adult pain: Visual Analog Scale for Pain (VAS Pain), Numeric Rating Scale for Pain (NRS Pain), McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), Chronic Pain Grade Scale (CPGS), Short Form-36 Bodily Pain Scale (SF-36 BPS), and Measure of Intermittent and Constant Osteoarthritis Pain (ICOAP). Arthritis care & research, 63 Suppl 11, S240–S252. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.20543 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.20543
Jack, K., McLean, S. M., Moffett, J. K., & Gardiner, E. (2010). Barriers to treatment adherence in physiotherapy outpatient clinics: a systematic review. Manual therapy, 15(3), 220–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2009.12.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2009.12.004
Johnson, D., Deterding, S., Kuhn, K. A., Staneva, A., Stoyanov, S., & Hides, L. (2016). Gamification for health and wellbeing: A systematic review of the literature. Internet interventions, 6, 89–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2016.10.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2016.10.002
Kari, T., Piippo, J., Frank, L., Makkonen, M., & Moilanen, P. (2016). To gamify or not to gamify? Gamification in exercise applications and its role in impacting exercise motivation [Paper presentation]. 29th Bled eConference, Bled, Slovenia.
Kehlet, H., & Thienpont, E. (2013). Fast-track knee arthroplasty -- status and future challenges. The Knee, 20 Suppl 1, S29–S33. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0968-0160(13)70006-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0968-0160(13)70006-1
Learmonth, I. D., Young, C., & Rorabeck, C. (2007). The operation of the century: total hip replacement. Lancet (London, England), 370(9597), 1508–1519. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60457-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60457-7
Li, C., Neugroschl, J., Zhu, C. W., Aloysi, A., Schimming, C. A., Cai, D., Grossman, H., Martin, J., Sewell, M., Loizos, M., Zeng, X., & Sano, M. (2021). Design Considerations for Mobile Health Applications Targeting Older Adults. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 79(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-200485 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-200485
Marcolino, M. S., Oliveira, J. A. Q., D'Agostino, M., Ribeiro, A. L., Alkmim, M. B. M., & Novillo-Ortiz, D. (2018). The Impact of mHealth Interventions: Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 6(1), e23. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.8873 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.8873
Menon, N., Turcotte, J. J., Stone, A. H., Adkins, A. L., MacDonald, J. H., & King, P. J. (2020). Outpatient, Home-Based Physical Therapy Promotes Decreased Length of Stay and Post-Acute Resource Utilization After Total Joint Arthroplasty. The Journal of arthroplasty, 35(8), 1968–1972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2020.03.031 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2020.03.031
Mont, M. A., & Issa, K. (2014). Updated projections of total joint arthroplasty demands in America. Commentary on an article by Steven M. Kurtz, PhD, et al.: "Impact of the Economic Downturn on Total Joint Replacement Demand in the United States. Updated Projections to 2021". The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume, 96(8), e68. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.N.00005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.N.00005
Patel, B., & Thind, A. (2020). Usability of mobile health apps for postoperative care: Systematic review. JMIR Perioperative Medicine, 3(2), Article e19099. DOI: 10.2196/19099 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/19099
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, Article 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860
Safari, R., Jackson, J., & Sheffield, D. (2020). Digital Self-Management Interventions for People With Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(7), e15365. https://doi.org/10.2196/15365 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/15365
Santiago, A. E., Cruz, V. P. G., Furtado, R. S., Cândido, E. B., Brandão, W. C., & Silva Filho, A. L. (2022). Gamified Mobile App (MobERAS) for Telemonitoring Patients in the Postoperative Period Based on the Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Program: Development and Validation Study. JMIR perioperative medicine, 7, e56033. https://doi.org/10.2196/56033 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/56033
Sardi, L., Idri, A., & Fernández-Alemán, J. L. (2017). A systematic review of gamification in e-Health. Journal of biomedical informatics, 71, 31–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2017.05.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbi.2017.05.011
Tran, S., Smith, L., El-Den, S., & Carter, S. (2022). The Use of Gamification and Incentives in Mobile Health Apps to Improve Medication Adherence: Scoping Review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 10(2), e30671. https://doi.org/10.2196/30671 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/30671
Wainwright, T. W., & Kehlet, H. (2019). Fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty - have we reached the goal?. Acta orthopaedica, 90(1), 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/17453674.2018.1550708 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17453674.2018.1550708
Westby, M. D., Brittain, A., & Backman, C. L. (2014). Expert consensus on best practices for post-acute rehabilitation after total hip and knee arthroplasty: a Canada and United States Delphi study. Arthritis care & research, 66(3), 411–423. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.22164 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.22164
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2022 International journal of health sciences

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the International Journal of Health Sciences (IJHS) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IJHS right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in IJHS can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
This copyright notice applies to articles published in IJHS volumes 4 onwards. Please read about the copyright notices for previous volumes under Journal History.








