Abstract
Body awareness is a relevant concept for healthy aging related to movement harmony, and consists of different connections between different body functions. Balance regulation depends on the integrity of proprioception and strength in different parts of the body. New approaches to promote body awareness literacy are vital and game-based active techniques represent one of the important solutions. This chapter results from a narrative literature review, and it intends to a) explore body awareness determinants and their relevance for health literacy in the aging process; and b) discuss new approaches for developing programs in body awareness literacy, exploring game-based active techniques. The user-centered approaches, like serious games, can facilitate health education, and improve health literacy and body awareness, maximizing health outcomes in older people. This chapter seeks to offer innovative health education strategies, equipping older adults with tools to improve body awareness and well-being through interactive game-based methods.
TopMain Focus Of The Chapter
This chapter explores the commonly overlooked aspect of healthy aging paradigms: body awareness, its determinants, and its significance for health literacy in the aging process. It aims to discuss innovative approaches for developing body awareness literacy programs, with a focus on game-based active techniques specifically designed to promote well-being, healthy aging, active aging awareness, and body awareness. The chapter begins by explaining how maintaining body awareness can contribute to health literacy, particularly emphasizing physical literacy. Intriguingly, this chapter examines the evolution of the concept of body awareness over time, discussing various frameworks and constructs found in the literature. It covers a topic that has seen almost four decades of research and holds special importance in the context of aging. Additionally, the chapter investigates the impact of body awareness on different dimensions for elderly individuals, all of which are crucial for healthy aging. Professionals or specialists working with geriatric populations will find this chapter to be a valuable resource for planning specific body awareness interventions. This includes both traditional body awareness therapy and innovative game-based interventions. The use of games, both analog and digital, for rehabilitation in cases of body awareness disability represents a novel and intriguing paradigm worth exploring.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Serious Games: Games designed with a specific purpose beyond entertainment, often for educational, therapeutic, or specific population-based objectives.
Health Literacy: The ability to access, understand, and use health information to make informed health decisions.
Healthy Aging: The process of growing older in a healthy manner, characterized by maintaining independence and active participation in life, with minimal functional restrictions.
Positive Embodiment: The concept of maintaining a positive relationship with one's body during the aging process, associated with higher levels of cognition and rooted in sensorimotor processing.
Body Awareness: The conscious focus on and knowledge of one's own body, involving proprioception (the sense of body position and movement), interoception (the sense of internal bodily states), body ownership, and mental processes.
Gamification: The application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts, often to improve user engagement, organizational productivity, learning, physical exercise, and more.
Physical Literacy: The intrinsic knowledge and physical competence in activities requiring physical movement, along with the motivation and confidence to engage in such activities.
Wellbeing: A subjective state reflecting good health and a positive evaluation of life, encompassing social, economic, and contextual aspects of daily living.
Interoception: The ability to perceive and understand internal bodily sensations, including aspects such as accuracy, sensitivity, awareness, and emotional responses.
Aging: The natural process of growing older, characterized by specific physiological changes over time.