Serious Health Educational Games and Their Effectiveness Among Children

Abstract

Researchers have struggled to create effective mechanisms that help educate children on various health-related topics. Since the release of Captain Novolin and Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus in the early 1990’s, there has been a steady production of health educational games for children. The authors have conducted an exhaustive literature review and found twenty-six health related games that have been released in the United States. From 1992 - 2013, these games cover a range of health related issues such as Asthma, Depression, Diabetes, and Cancer. Our findings suggest that the majority of the health education games focus on educating younger children about diabetes and reducing diabetes-related emergency visits. Thus, our focus is on six diabetes related games, Captain Novolin, Packy and Marlon, Dbaza’s Diabetes Education for Kids, Starbright Life Adventure Series, Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space, Escape from Diab. Our research questions are: “What are the common characteristics that promote these games to be a success?” “What is the relevance of only focusing on the topic of diabetes?”