Prevention is Better than Cure? How the Gamification Elements of Gerontechnology Influence the Elderly Mental Well-being and Cognitive Health: A Longitudinal Study in Hong Kong

Understanding how elderly users achieve desirable outcomes (e.g., well-being) by taking advantage of the gamification affordances of cognitive training mobile games is critical for improving the training effectiveness. To fill the research gaps, a three-stage theoretical model drawn from affordance theory, the perspective of six common cognitive therapies, and computational theory of mind is developed to explain the well-being actualization of gamification affordances. Mixed-methods design will be applied to collect data. Additionally, an experiment will be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive training mobile games in improving elderly users’ cognitive health. With the assistance of the above collaborators, our multistage model will be examined by recruiting elderly people from their elderly centres. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling and MANOVA will be used for our data analysis. We will conduct a qualitative study to augment the insights gained from the survey results. Overall, our findings not only contribute to the literature on digital game-based cognitive training adoption, but also provide managerial guidance for the government, the elderly service organizations, the gerontech companies, and tertiary education about how to enhance the cognitive health among the elderly effectively.