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Playing Kioku Reduces Loneliness in Older Adults: A Pilot Study
Ehud Bodner1, Adi Segev2, Roberto Chernitsky2
1Department of Social and Health Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Games for Health Journal
|May 29, 2024
Summary
Playing the Kioku board game significantly reduced loneliness and improved well-being in older adults over 12 weeks. This social activity offers a promising intervention for enhancing mental health in this demographic.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Mental Health
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Social connectedness through shared activities can mitigate loneliness.
- Research on the mental health benefits of board games, particularly for older adults, remains limited.
- The Kioku board game was specifically designed to foster small group interaction and collaborative storytelling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of the Kioku board game intervention on loneliness and well-being in older adults.
- To test the hypothesis that weekly engagement with Kioku would decrease loneliness and increase well-being compared to a control group.
Main Methods:
- A 12-week randomized controlled trial involving 151 older adults (mean age 75.05) in Israel.
- Participants were assigned to either an intervention group (Kioku board game) or a control group.
- Loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale) and well-being (WHO-5 Well-being Scale) were assessed at baseline and 12 weeks, with ANCOVA used for analysis.
Main Results:
- Significant interaction effects were found for both loneliness and well-being.
- The intervention group showed a significant decrease in loneliness (mean difference: 0.62 points, P < 0.001).
- The intervention group demonstrated a significant increase in well-being (mean difference: 0.79 points, P < 0.001), while the control group experienced a decrease.
Conclusions:
- The Kioku board game intervention is effective in reducing loneliness among older adults.
- The intervention successfully promotes enhanced well-being in the older adult population.
- Kioku offers a viable tool for addressing mental health challenges, such as loneliness, in older adults, potentially exacerbated by factors like the COVID-19 pandemic.
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