(07/06/2017 - Barcelona, Spain) - I am excited this week to be delivering a week-long course on serious games for health and the launch of my new book with Dr. Oscar Garcia Panella, the academic director of the ENTI video game program at the University of Barcelona.

Serious games for health are interactive gaming applications that have the goal to educate and motivate users for behavior change. Applications include patient education, physiotherapy, chronic disease management, simulations, and continuing professional education. The course and book provide an overview of the design and evaluation of serious games for health, and the best implementations to date. The course is well attended by health professionals, computer programmers, and interface designers.

"The great creations come from people with different disciplines" - Yuri Quintana 7/3/17 at book launch in Barcelona, Spain (Photo Credit: Gedisa Publishers)

Senior members of the University of Barcelona and regional leaders attended the book launch. It is rewarding to see this new area being recognized by leaders in the academic, health and government sectors. There is a great need to find new ways to promote healthy and sustained changes in both patients and health professionals, optimize the quality of services, and expand access to healthcare. The book is available for ordering online at this web page and Amazon in Spain and USA. I look forward to bringing the course to other parts of the world and interacting with other groups looking for innovative ways to stimulate their programs.