Game Mimics Reality to Improve Life for Older Adults with Cancer
Game Mimics Reality to Improve Life for Older Adults with Cancer
Game Mimics Reality to Improve Life for Older Adults with Cancer
By Julie Harper
December 6, 2023
Summary
That's not good, according to Victoria Loerzel '07PhD, a professor in UCF's College of Nursing who has been researching older adults with cancer for over a decade.
This is why Loerzel and a team of researchers developed an innovative educational game for older adults with cancer.
The educational-based game simulates life at home for older adults after chemotherapy treatment and applies to any cancer.
A small preliminary study was successful; older adults who used the intervention used twice as many preventative strategies than those who did not play the game.
The new research funding will support a five-year, multi-site study to test the game with 500 older adults.
The research addresses a critical national need to develop new strategies to improve health outcomes for older adults with cancer.
An oncology nurse for more than two decades, Loerzel began to focus her research on older adults with cancer during her doctoral dissertation at UCF. At that time, most of the research looking at quality of life for people with cancer was based on the average age of 50.
Reference
Harper, J. (2023, December 6). Game mimics reality to improve life for older adults with cancer: University of Central Florida News. University of Central Florida News | UCF Today. https://www.ucf.edu/news/game-mimics-reality-to-improve-life-for-older-adults-with-cancer/