Commentary

Make health a mobile game for youths


 

If we do it right, it will go viral. It will spread. What I want is for your kids to say, "I need that game!" We don’t need to shove health at people, we want them to grab it and take it.

At some point, kids are not going to have computers. Desktops are dying. Mobile phones are the way to reach them, especially in low-income and minority and rural communities.

We have the tools, we have the information, and we have the skills to make this happen. This is our goal in the 21st century.

Dr. Nilsen is a health scientist administrator at the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. She reported having no financial disclosures. Dr. Nilsen gave these comments at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in San Francisco. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the National Institutes of Health or any other author-affiliated organizations.

Pages

Recommended Reading

Technology transforming the practice of psychiatry
MDedge Psychiatry
Battling over the budget: The Policy & Practice Podcast
MDedge Psychiatry
Providers order fewer tests when fees are listed
MDedge Psychiatry
More than 23% of uninsured didn't take medications as prescribed
MDedge Psychiatry
Storify: After Boston Marathon blasts, doctors rush to help
MDedge Psychiatry
Start older patients with GAD on medication early
MDedge Psychiatry
Emergency physicians share lessons from Boston Marathon bombings response
MDedge Psychiatry
Lawmakers take aim at ACA implementation: The Policy & Practice podcast
MDedge Psychiatry
Supreme Court ponders patenting of human genes
MDedge Psychiatry
Navigating the new insurance exchanges
MDedge Psychiatry