Adapting UX to the design of healthcare games and applications

Games and simulations are used in healthcare for purposes including training, education, and promoting wellness. However, there is often disconnect between content creators and the healthcare providers or patients who use their products. This can result in negative experiences and perceptions. This article investigates research in user experience (UX) to examine how games and applications designed for use in healthcare are impacted by considerations such as design practices and users' attitudes. By exploring the design of healthcare games and applications through the lens of user experience, the authors analyze current practices and develop specific design recommendations to improve future game-based scenarios. These six design recommendations are then applied to an example game, Medulla, to investigate their utility in framing a real-world example.