Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Serious Games
Date Submitted: May 20, 2024
Date Accepted: Nov 19, 2024
Evaluating the efficacy of a serious game to deliver health education about invasive meningococcal disease using a clustered randomised controlled equivalence trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Invasive Meningococcal disease (IMD) is a serious, vaccine-preventable infectious disease that can be life threatening.
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy of Meningococcal Immunisation Awareness, Prevention and Protection app (MIApp), a serious game to deliver health education about IMD to adolescents.
Methods:
A clustered, randomised controlled equivalence trial involving students (Years 7-10) from six secondary schools across metropolitan Western Australia completed a pre-and post-intervention questionnaire with a follow-up at three months post-intervention to measure the primary outcome of IMD knowledge acquisition following this self-guided intervention. The findings were compared to changes in an active control (comparison) group that received an in-class educational presentation about IMD transmission and protection. Median scores for knowledge pre- and post-intervention were collected from a self-administered assessment (Qualtrics), and at three months post-intervention, they were compared between groups. A knowledge score of +/- 2/16 was determined a priori to meet the criteria for equivalence.
Results:
Of the 788 participating students, the median post-intervention correct score in both the MIApp and control cohorts was 14/16 (87.5% correct responses), compared to the median pre-intervention correct score of 6/16 (37.5% correct responses) representing a significant (p<0.01) increase in IMD knowledge in both groups. Improvements were retained in both groups three months after the initial intervention (median correct score 11/16 intervention, 12/16 control, p=0.86) demonstrating the efficacy of MIApp to deliver health education about IMD transmission and protection, although response rates in the follow-up cohort were low (11.3%).
Conclusions:
Participating adolescents considered the MIApp game more enjoyable than a presentation, with equivalent improvements in knowledge. Serious games could represent a constructive tool to help teachers impart specialised health education. Clinical Trial: Not applicable
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