Using an interactive visual novel to promote patient empowerment through engagement

In this paper we describe a prototype of a serious game designed to improve hospital patients' confidence in managing their hospital stay. We present findings of an evaluation of our visual novel computer game by comparing it with traditional approaches to increasing patient empowerment and patient self-efficacy. The results indicated a significant effect of the type of intervention on improvement in empowerment, but only for participants with gaming experience or who achieved a high level of engagement in the game. This study provides evidence that games may outperform other types of health intervention under certain conditions.