Back in the Game

The ambition of this project is to develop and pilot, within five years, an accessible, user-friendly, and evidence-based open-source serious game tailored to the needs and requirements of individuals with lower back and neck pain. This game will serve as a strategy to maintain and increase the employment rate in the Limburg region. In the long term, the serious game aims to empower workers to identify and overcome obstacles related to labor participation due to back and neck issues, enabling them to sustainably and confidently remain at work, return to work, or actively seek employment again.

The game will be developed and tested through a co-creative process involving at least 500 end users and 20 labor and health professionals. An in-depth pilot study with a minimum of 30 participants will evaluate the added value of the game in terms of labor participation, return to work, and self-management (coping with experienced obstacles).