Tailored E-Health Gaming: a New Window of Opportunities for E-Health?
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Abstract
Background: Computer tailoring strategies are used to provide people with relevant and highly personalized feedback and advice. This strategy has proven to be effective and cost-effective to improve health behaviors. Traditionally, computer tailored feedback has been provided by e-mails or letters. More recently, video messages are used to decrease high attrition rates: the major drawback of web-based interventions. Adolescents in particular are easily bored and prematurely quit these interventions. To decrease attrition rates in adolescents and make computer tailored interventions more attractive to this target group, the current study has combined computer tailoring strategies with a game aimed at decreasing binge drinking in Dutch adolescents aged 16 to 18 years (who are legally allowed to drink soft alcoholic beverages).
Objective: Aim of this study is to explore how the game is used, and to assess reactions such as satisfaction with the program, comprehension and suitability of the feedback, and the overall impression and revisits of the game. We furthermore investigate if adolescents are willing to provide their parents e-mail addresses in order to invite them to visit another alcohol prevention website. In the game, the adolescent wakes up in the morning after a night out and does not remember what happened the night before. The purpose of the game is to reconstruct the night. The game consists of three sessions. The first session is played at school. Adolescents will be invited to continue to play the other sessions at home. This design will make it possible to monitor if adolescents will return to the game and who will come back.
Methods: The game was pilot tested at 5 schools from higher secondary and lower tertiary education. In total about 500 adolescents participated. Adolescents had to fill out an online baseline questionnaire assessing demographic variables (age, gender, education), drinking behavior and motivational determinants (modeling, social norm, perceived pressure, self-efficacy). After the baseline questionnaire, the adolescents started with the first session of the game. Also during the game, the adolescents received text messages on a virtual cell phone asking them to answer questions about motivational determinants. The answers were used to provide personalized computer tailored feedback and action plans to prevent binge drinking in identified difficult situations.
After the first session, adolescents filled out a process evaluation form asking for comprehension, attractiveness, and appreciation of the text messages and the game. The next day they received an invitation to continue with session two and three of the game at home. The use of the game was tracked by means of server registrations.
Results: 1. Overall use of the tailored gaming program will be described and reactions such as game appreciation, attractiveness, level of personalized relevance. 2. We will describe differences in reactions between groups in terms of gender and SES. 3. Revisits of the website and recruitment of parents via their children will be described.
Conclusions: Computer tailored games may provide a new window of opportunities for eHealth that may attract both LSES and HSES adolescents.
Objective: Aim of this study is to explore how the game is used, and to assess reactions such as satisfaction with the program, comprehension and suitability of the feedback, and the overall impression and revisits of the game. We furthermore investigate if adolescents are willing to provide their parents e-mail addresses in order to invite them to visit another alcohol prevention website. In the game, the adolescent wakes up in the morning after a night out and does not remember what happened the night before. The purpose of the game is to reconstruct the night. The game consists of three sessions. The first session is played at school. Adolescents will be invited to continue to play the other sessions at home. This design will make it possible to monitor if adolescents will return to the game and who will come back.
Methods: The game was pilot tested at 5 schools from higher secondary and lower tertiary education. In total about 500 adolescents participated. Adolescents had to fill out an online baseline questionnaire assessing demographic variables (age, gender, education), drinking behavior and motivational determinants (modeling, social norm, perceived pressure, self-efficacy). After the baseline questionnaire, the adolescents started with the first session of the game. Also during the game, the adolescents received text messages on a virtual cell phone asking them to answer questions about motivational determinants. The answers were used to provide personalized computer tailored feedback and action plans to prevent binge drinking in identified difficult situations.
After the first session, adolescents filled out a process evaluation form asking for comprehension, attractiveness, and appreciation of the text messages and the game. The next day they received an invitation to continue with session two and three of the game at home. The use of the game was tracked by means of server registrations.
Results: 1. Overall use of the tailored gaming program will be described and reactions such as game appreciation, attractiveness, level of personalized relevance. 2. We will describe differences in reactions between groups in terms of gender and SES. 3. Revisits of the website and recruitment of parents via their children will be described.
Conclusions: Computer tailored games may provide a new window of opportunities for eHealth that may attract both LSES and HSES adolescents.
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