Gaming to Improve Health Literacy
Elisabeth Jacobsen Marrapodi
(Brielle Coronet/SL)
Library Director
Trinitas Regional Medical Center
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Study: Can Interactive Games Improve Health
Literacy?
The Research Team: Team Leader: Medical Librarian Advisors: Cardiology, Neurology & Education NursesIntern: 2nd Year MLS Student
Teaching Objective: Offer fun, educational, interactive Consumer Health Literacy quizzes to increase
public awareness about signs and symptoms on selected health topics Targeted Topics:
* Heart Attack * Stroke
* Medical Terminology
Target Populations: * local to global
The situation
Low literacy affects > 90 million adults in the U.S. Low literacy contributes to adverse outcomes
• Poor management of chronic illness
• Less healthy behaviors
• Higher hospitalization rates
• Medical errors
• And more
Why target heart attack and stroke?
Every 20 seconds, a person in the United States has a heart attack• At least 250,000 people die of heart attacks each year before they
reach a hospital
Every 40 seconds a person in the United States has a stroke• Did you know that 75 to 80% of people who suffer a stroke don't
seek help?• Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Over 143,579 people die each year from stroke in the United States
Too many people do not know the signs or will ignore them…awareness and quick action are vital!
Advantages of online interactive games
For the Consumer: Private, anonymous Learn at your own
pace Accessible 24/7 Fun
For the Educator: Inexpensive Where your
customers are Maximum outreach
Chosen Methods
Library Website
• www.trinitas.org
• 600,000+ visitors annually
Web 3.0 virtual reality 3D platform: • Second Life
• www.secondlife.com• virtual real time global
community with >8 million “residents”
Library Website
Web 3.0: 3D Virtual World of Second LifeHealthInfo Island
Sample Traveling Mini-Exhibits in Second Life
Stroke Quiz: Sample Questions
Promotional Strategies for Library Website
institutional website
Library website
Internal newsletter
Bulletin boards
Community news
Library blog Facebook NNLM wiki
Promotional Strategies for Second Life Study
SL events Avatar profile Avatar’s Twitter professional
groups SL Library
Google group LinkedIn RL library blog Facebook
Preliminary Study Survey Results Nov 2009*- Feb 2010
total post quiz survey responsesAge Groups
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
18-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
Website
Second Life
Gender
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
M F
SL
Website
Education Levels
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
<H.S. H.S. tech sch <4 yr coll coll deg <grad grad deg
Website
Second Life
Post Quiz Survey Question: Did you learn any new information as a result of taking these health quizzes?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Yes No
Website
Second Life
Post Quiz Survey Question: As a result of taking these quizzes will you use any information for future health care decisions?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Yes No
Website
Second Life
Projected Outcomes
Preliminary post-quiz survey feedback supports the hypothesis that online interactive games can be an easy, effective tool to increase health literacy
Our projected outcomes are that interactive online health games will create a "more informed community" who will:
• Recognize signs and symptoms faster for stroke and heart attack
• Get to a Stroke Center or Emergency Room quicker
• Be able to communicate and understand common medical terms
for better management of their health care needs
Health Literacy Supporters
Healthy People 2010 (Dept of Health & Human Services, U.S.)
American Stroke Association National Stroke Association (U.S.) Medical Library Association The Joint Commission (U.S.) National Institute of Health (U.S.)
Full presentation available at Slideshare
http://www.slideshare.net/emarrapodi
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