Interesting Sessions at Games for Health, 2008

Games for Health, 2008 will be held May 8-9 in Baltimore. Here are some of the sessions I found particularly interesting:

A Randomized Controlled Study of the Effectiveness of Casual Video Games in Reducing Stress and Improving Mood
Carmen Russoniello, Eastern Carolina University

Should “Videogame Addiction” be in DSM-V?
Jack Kuo, Promises Treatment Centers

The World of Warcraft Blood Disease : Epidemiological Observations and Findings
Nina Fefferman, Tufts University

PDwii: Using Novel Interfaces to Promote Physical Rehabilitation & Achieve Quantifiable Results
Red Hill Studios

The one by Fefferman on the WoW disease will be intriguing because it will attempt to show how dynamic virtual environments can represent RL phenomena. I’ve covered Wii-hab, stress reduction, and the question of including videogame “addiction” in DSM-V here. (In a word, the answer to this question is, “No.”)

There are many more sessions, and all of them look inviting. The Games for Health conference is always chock full of good content, and this year will be no exception.