January 1, 2013Open Access
An in-depth, longitudinal examination of the daily physical activity of a patient with heart failure using a Nintendo Wii at home: A case report
Key Result
Providing a 74-year-old patient with heart failure access to a Nintendo Wii at home for 12 weeks increased daily physical activity by 57% on weekdays and 200% on weekends compared to baseline.
Study Design
Type
Case Report (n=1)
Multicenter
No
Structured PICO
Does access to a Nintendo Wii at home improve daily physical activity in a patient with chronic heart failure?
P
Population
1 74-year-old Swedish patient with chronic heart failure
I
Intervention
Access to a Nintendo Wii at home for 12 weeks
C
Comparator
Baseline (pre-intervention)
O
Outcome
Daily physical activity (expended energy)patient reported
Providing a patient with heart failure access to a Nintendo Wii at home increased daily physical activity and exercise motivation without increasing perceived physical effort.
Limitations
- Single case study making it difficult to draw causal conclusions or generalize findings
- Conducted during summer which allowed for additional outdoor activities
- Patient experienced myalgia and weight gain during the intervention
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of the Nintendo Wii on the daily physical activity of a patient with chronic heart failure at home. METHODS: A 74-year-old Swedish patient with heart failure had access to a Nintendo Wii at home for 12 weeks. Exercise motivation, exercise self-efficacy and exercise capacity were assessed before and after the intervention. Data on perceived physical effort, global well-being and expended energy were collected every day during the intervention. RESULTS: During the 12 weeks of access to the Nintendo Wii, daily physical activity increased by 200% on weekdays and 57% on weekends, compared with baseline. The patient's exercise motivation and exercise self-efficacy increased during the study, whereas perceived physical effort and global well-being did not change. The patient had no difficulties in using the system and did not suffer any major harm. DISCUSSION: The results of this case study suggest that providing patients with heart failure access to a Nintendo Wii is a promising and safe intervention. The energy expended by the patient per day increased, as did exercise capacity. Playing the Nintendo Wii did not increase the perceived physical effort, but increased motivation to exercise and decreased barriers to exercising.