141st APHA Annual Meeting

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281002
Digital health game on cervical health and its effects on vietnamese women's cervical cancer knowledge

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 10:50 AM - 11:10 AM

Rohit Nirmal, Graduate Student , Department of Computer Science, University of Houston, Houston, TX
Chang Yun, Advisor
Jenny K. Yi, PhD, MPH , Department of Health Sciences, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA
Martin Le, Graduate Student
Patipol Paripoonnanonda, Graduate Student
Background Vietnamese American women have a higher cervical cancer rate than any ethnic group in the United States. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the effectiveness of a culturally tailored digital game to improve knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer among Vietnamese women. Objective By the end of this presentation, the participants will realize that this game we created can be: • Fun to play and highly educational about HPV and cervical cancer; • Superior to pamphlets and websites as educational tools; • More useful to people who speak non-English languages. Methods A multi-player digital board game was developed and tested in English and Vietnamese. The educational component of the game focuses on dispelling myths held within the Vietnamese American community about cervical health. Results 103 women participated in pre and post intervention surveys. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 74, with a mean of 36. The preliminary findings suggest that Vietnamese American women who participated in the intervention significantly increased their knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV. The majority of participants (87%) reported the game was better and more fun than traditional educational methods. Conclusions The findings suggest that a health intervention as a serious health game play affected participants' knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer and motivated Vietnamese participants to act on the information. Results of this study highlight the need to explore nontraditional methods of educating this high risk population regarding cervical cancer. Lessons learned and implications of study findings will be discussed.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
Demonstrate that game-based learning is superior to traditional means of learning about health-related topics such as HPV and cervical cancer.

Keywords: Cervical Cancer, Technology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a graduate student in my university's department of computer science. My advisor has given this topic to me as part of the requirements for my thesis, which involves exploring the educational uses of digital games in matters of health care.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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