Wii Fit U games utilize a Wii Balance Boardâ„¢ (WBB) in a manner that can provide precise feedback contingencies similarly to some forms of balance rehabilitation, thereby potentially increasing the dose of quality therapy with or without the presence of a therapist during post-brain injury rehabilitation. Additionally, an engaging video-game could improve treatment adherence, a critical aspect of making positive functional gains, by potentially increasing the rate and quality of reinforcement embedded in therapy. The present study had three aims: (1) develop a rigorous behavioral therapy for improving balance in individuals living with chronic brain injury using a Wii Fit U game and the WBB; (2) evaluate the program's effects on balance measures using a within-subject experimental design; and (3) assess social validity of behavioral gains by evaluating the program's effects on participant's "subjective balance confidence" (i.e., their Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scores). A reversal design is proposed for use with primary study participants, wherein the experimental gameplay condition and no intervention condition are alternated for 6 to 10 weeks. A similar design was used in a truncated fashion with pilot participants, and a multiple baseline design was used with follow-up pilot participants. It was expected that participants would exhibit greater performance in the game as well as better balance score improvement when the Wii Fit U game was administered at a high therapeutic dose, and that increased ABC scores would correlate with directly measured balance scores.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1808339 |
Date | 05 1900 |
Creators | Cruz, Selena R |
Contributors | Becker, April, Dracobly, Joseph, Rosale-Ruiz, Jesus |
Publisher | University of North Texas |
Source Sets | University of North Texas |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
Format | vi, 48 pages, Text |
Rights | Public, Cruz, Selena R, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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