Staying home and playing video games have shown that they can have a positive effect on the mental state of those who play them, and some doctors have decided to embrace that. These medical professionals are prescribing a new mobile game called EndeavorRX to children between the ages of eight to twelve, and it is displaying helpful results.
While some people believe that excessive video gaming is bad for players' health, studies have shown that games can significantly impact people's health in positive ways, not just mentally, but physically as well. Video games designed to help with aliments like the lazy eye condition and depth perception issues have been created and are going through the process of getting approval from the FDA. However, one mobile game has been approved and already is being prescribed to patients.
EndeavorRX has been approved by the FDA after six years of clinical trials to be used to help treat symptoms of inattentive or combined-type ADHD. The game was designed to be used by children between the ages of eight and 12, and is available for iPhone and iPad. The most favorable of the studies of the game showed that children who played EndeavorRX "no longer had a measurable attention deficit on at least one measure of objective attention," displaying the game's positive impact on children who played it for 25 minutes a day, five days a week for four weeks in a row.
The game trailer shows the player's character piloting what appears to be a hovercraft. The interchangeable avatar moves through maps, dodging obstacles and collecting objects. While this doesn't seem to deviate from other mobile games in this genre, EndeavorRX's website says that the game has been proven to significantly improve a child with ADHD's objective measurement of attention compared with a control game, which showed little impact. Though this game improves players' health, EndeavorRX does not replace a patient's treatment plan and is meant to be used along side medicine-based treatments.
EndeavorRX is unlocking the potential of games to be used to influence physical and mental health in positive ways. With this game's proven benefits, other games over many different platforms may follow the studies and work to be more than just entertainment value for their players.
Source: My Akili Care