Reach Out Central: a serious game designed to engage young men to improve mental health and wellbeing

Abstract

Reach Out Central (ROC) is a serious game drawing on the principles of cognitive behaviour theory that has been designed to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people, particularly men. ROC was developed over a 3‐year period from 2003 to 2006, in consultation with young people aged 16–25 years who use the Reach Out mental health website ( http://www.reachout.com). ROC was launched online in September 2007. A traditional and viral awareness campaign was designed to engage young men, particularly “gamers”. In the first month after launch, ROC had 76 045 unique website visits, with 10 542 new members (52% male) joining Reach Out. An independent online evaluation involving 266 young people aged 18–25 years was conducted between August 2007 and February 2008 to examine psychological wellbeing, stigma and help seeking in ROC players. Overall results indicated that ROC was successful in attracting, engaging and educating young people. Young women reported reduced psychological distress and improved life satisfaction, problem solving and help seeking; however, no significant changes were observed for young men. Although ROC was successful in attracting young men, demonstrating that the concept resonates with them, the service failed to keep them engaged. Further research is needed to explore how (or what changes need to be made) to sustain young men's engagement in the game.

Young men’s attitudes and behaviour in relation to mental health and technology: implications for the development of online mental health services

“…Young people in Australia report they are twice as likely to seek help from the Internet than a professional [15]. The Internet has significant advantages as a method of interacting with young people: it can reach a wide audience; be accessed 24 hours a day at little or no cost; websites can be updated frequently; it is interactive; and, can link to other relevant resources [11,16]. Furthermore, the Internet may address the strong desire for independence and autonomy in males and provide a non-confrontational medium through which to seek help [17,18].…”

“…A recent review of online intervention programs for children and young people found that overall they had beneficial effects on their health behaviour; though these programs were generally focussed on improving physical health outcomes as opposed to mental health outcomes [19]. Two currently available online programs aimed at improving mental health outcomes, MoodGYM (http://www.moodgym.com.au; an interactive cognitive behavioural therapy program designed to prevent and decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety), and Reach Out Central (ROC; http://www.reachoutcentral.com.au; an interactive game utilising cognitive behavioural principles to develop practical coping skills for dealing with life stressors and improve mental health), have shown promise in trials with young people [11,20,21]. However, these studies have highlighted several important challenges for MoodGYM, ROC and other self-directed Internet programs; including how to ensure enough of the program is received and that users remain engaged with the program, as well as how to enhance the sustainability of any benefits.…”

Use of Internet Viral Marketing to Promote Smoke-Free Lifestyles among Chinese Adolescents

“…With careful planning and implementation, such approach was successful in attracting the targets and transferred the correct knowledge to the target audience but sustaining engagement seemed to be difficult. An example for such obstacle could be found in the Reach Out Central, a serious game to enhance youth's mental well-being [48]. Comparing to the Reach Out Central, the present study seems to be more successful in engaging youths.…”

“…Previous health promotion or education game models were primarily based on knowledge transfer and instant information flow [48]. With careful planning and implementation, such approach was successful in attracting the targets and transferred the correct knowledge to the target audience but sustaining engagement seemed to be difficult.…”

Young Men, Mental Health, and Technology: Implications for Service Design and Delivery in the Digital Age

“…These information and communications technologies (ICTs) are ideally suited to accommodate young men’s preferences for autonomous and anonymous channels for seeking help [12,13]. Studies of free access online programs designed to improve mental health outcomes (eg, MoodGYM, Reach Out Central) have shown promise in trials with young people [14-16]. However, these studies have also highlighted the difficulty and importance of sustained engagement (particularly for young males) if results are to be maximized [16,17].…”