THERAPEUTIC: gamified incentivizing tangible interfaces for therapeutic patient education in the case of osteoporosis – THERAPEUTIC

Osteoporosis is a severe chronic disease defined as bone fragility. One-third of women and one-fifth of men will suffer an osteoporotic fracture after age 50. As osteoporosis is a transparent disease with silent symptoms, treatment adherence represents a therapeutic challenge. According to the French National Authority for Health, Therapeutic Patient Education (TPE) sessions are organized to establish a therapeutic alliance between patients and doctors and to encourage the adoption of lifestyle changes needed. The THERAPEUTIC project aims to design and evaluate a new generation of hybrid materials for TPE sessions and daily life at home to support therapeutic adherence. The project focus on three main objectives: (1) Characterizing the ergo-pedagogical design and interaction spaces that enable patients to understand the concepts linked to osteoporosis and its treatment, facilitating patient-caregiver exchanges, and reducing cognitive, social, and spatiotemporal distances. (2) Supporting sustained behavioral changes and fostering motivation across different contexts (TPE sessions and at home) in a long-term perspective, considering hybrid gamification tailored to patients’ motivation and engagement. (3) Modeling and making information tangible (effects of disease and treatment, engagement, etc.) for the patient, adapted to the singularity of each one according to their pathologies, representations, and particular needs based on the other two objectives, including once the patient has returned home. We, therefore, hypothesize that the THERAPEUTIC project will (1) be accepted by patients, (2) facilitate their understanding of osteoporosis and treatment, (3) ensure the continuity of motivation across TPE sessions and at home to maintain their engagement in changing their behaviour in a long-term perspective. THERAPEUTIC is an interdisciplinary project gathering the fields of Human-Computer Interactions, Gamification, and Therapeutic Patient Education.