Background Cancer in the United States is a leading cause of mortality. Educating adolescents about cancer risks can improve awareness and introduce healthy lifestyle habits. Public health efforts have made significant progress in easing the burden of cancer through the promotion of early screening and healthy lifestyle advocacy. However, there are limited interventions that educate the adolescent population about cancer prevention. Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of serious games (SGs) to teach adolescents about healthy lifestyle choices, but few research efforts have examined the utility of using SGs to educate youth specifically on cancer prevention. Objective This study aimed to investigate middle school students’ preferences for the use of SGs for cancer prevention education. The study also characterized the students’ perceptions of desired game design features for a cancer prevention SG. Methods Focus groups were held to allow adolescents to review a game playbook and discuss gaming behaviors and preferences for an SG for cancer education. The game playbook was developed based on “Cancer, Clear & Simple,” a curriculum intended to educate individuals about cancer, prevention, self-care, screening, and detection. In the game, the player learns that they have cancer and is given the opportunity to go back in time to reduce their cancer risk. A focus group discussion guide was developed and consisted of questions about aspects of the playbook and the participants’ gaming experience. The participants were eligible if they were 12 to 14 years old, could speak and understand English, and had parents who could read English or Spanish. Each focus group consisted of 5 to 10 persons. The focus groups were audio recorded and professionally transcribed; they were then analyzed content-wise and thematically by 2 study team members. Intercoder reliability (kappa coefficient) among the coders was reported as 0.97. The prevalent codes were identified and categorized into themes and subthemes. Results A total of 18 focus groups were held with 139 participants from a Wisconsin middle school. Most participants had at least “some” gaming experience. Three major themes were identified, which were educational video games, game content, and purpose of game. The participants preferred customizable characters and realistic story lines that allowed players to make choices that affect the characters’ outcomes. Middle school students also preferred SGs over other educational methods such as lectures, books, videos, and websites. The participants desired SGs to be available across multiple platforms and suggested the use of SGs for cancer education in their school. Conclusions Older children and adolescents consider SGs to be an entertaining tool to learn about cancer prevention and risk factors. Their design preferences should be considered to create a cancer education SG that is acceptable and engaging for youth.
The Psychology and Neuroscience Departmental Association (PNDA) advocates on behalf of its members to the Department of Psychology at University of Toronto Scarborough and fosters academic excellence and career growth. PNDA provides academic and professional support by creating opportunities to interact and network with like-minded individuals while serving as a hub for all matters pertaining to the Psychology, Mental Health studies, and Neuroscience programs, thereby connecting members, students, faculty, staff, organizations, institutions, companies, and communities. The Academic Research Panel (ARP) is a two-day event focused on fostering research and student engagement amongst UTSC students specifically in the psychology, neuroscience and mental health studies programs. The ARP was launched this year by PNDA executives to provide a platform for students to network with like-minded individuals and showcase their scientific work. The first day consisted of a professor and alumni panel and the secondary day highlighted research from undergraduate student presenters.
BACKGROUND Cancer in the United States is a leading cause of mortality. Educating adolescents about cancer risks can improve awareness and introduce healthy lifestyle habits. Public health efforts have made significant progress in easing the burden of cancer through the promotion of early screening and healthy lifestyle advocacy. However, there are limited interventions that educate the adolescent population about cancer prevention. Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of serious games (SGs) to teach adolescents about healthy lifestyle choices, but limited research has examined the utility of using SGs to educate youth specifically on cancer prevention. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate middle school students’ preferences for the use of SGs for cancer prevention education. The study also characterized the students’ perceptions of desired game design features for a cancer prevention SG. METHODS Focus groups were conducted to allow adolescents to review a game playbook and discuss gaming behaviors and preferences for a SG for cancer education. The game playbook was developed based on Cancer, Clear & Simple, a curriculum intended to educate individuals about cancer, prevention, self-care, screening, and detection. In the game, the player learns that they have cancer and is given the opportunity to go back in time to reduce their cancer risk. A focus group discussion guide was developed and consisted of questions about aspects of the playbook and participants’ gaming experience. Adolescents were eligible to participate if they were ages 12 to 14 years, could speak and understand English, and had parents who could read English or Spanish. Each focus group consisted of five to ten adolescents. Focus groups were audio-recorded and professionally transcribed, then content and thematically analyzed by two study team members. Intercoder reliability (kappa coefficient) among the coders was reported as 0.97. Prevalent codes were identified and categorized into themes and subthemes. RESULTS A total of 18 focus groups were conducted with 139 participants from a Wisconsin middle school. Five major themes were identified: educational video games, game content, purpose of game, video gaming experience, and trends in the gaming community. Participants preferred customizable characters and realistic storylines that allowed players to make choices that affect the characters’ outcomes. Middle school students also preferred SGs over other educational methods such as lectures, books, videos, and websites. Participants designed SGs to be available across multiple platforms and suggested the use of SGs for cancer education in their school. CONCLUSIONS SGs can be a useful tool to educate adolescents about cancer prevention and risk factors. A cancer education SG should aim to teach adolescents about cancer and cancer prevention while incorporating design preferences of youth in creating the educational intervention. CLINICALTRIAL Not applicable
The Psychology and Neuroscience Departmental Students’ Association (PNDA) advocates on behalf of its members to the Department of Psychology at University of Toronto Scarborough and fosters academic excellence and career growth. PNDA provides academic and professional support by creating opportunities to interact and network with like-minded individuals while serving as a hub for all matters pertaining to the Psychology, Mental Health studies, and Neuroscience programs, thereby connecting members, students, faculty, staff, organizations, institutions, companies, and communities. The Academic Research Panel (ARP) is an annual event focused on fostering research and student engagement amongst UTSC students specifically in the psychology, neuroscience, and mental health studies programs. Each year the ARP is led by undergraduate students from PNDA providing students with a platform to network and showcase their scientific work. This booklet is composed of abstracts from the presenting undergraduate students.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.