Hemonauts - Interactive Digital Media for Increased STEM Learning Among Chronically Ill Children and Their Support Networks

Abstract This proposal seeks to create the Hemonauts suite of interactive digital mediaIDMto serve chronically illfrequently hospitalized students in grades five through eight and their support networks toiIncrease STEM content knowledge through gameplayiiIncrease knowledge of and intent to persist in STEM careersandiiiIncrease disease literacy to improve patient self advocacytreatment complianceand to promote healthy lifestyle choicesChronically ill children are at risk of falling behind in school due to frequent absences and disease implicationspotentially resulting in additional psychological complications and long term setbacksWhile there are several health based apps on the market that promote disease managementthere is a lack of serious STEM games offered to children with the chronic diseases of Sickle Cell DiseaseSCDAsthmaand DiabetesHemonauts leverages these diseases as an entry point to exploit the target populationandapos s innate interest in anatomy and physiologyleading to not only a greater understanding of patientsandaposdiseases but also an increase in STEM content knowledge through newly designedadaptive math and science challenges and virtual interactions with STEM professionalse gscientistsdoctorsroboticistsetcThrough previous Phase I SBIR fundingRODwe created and tested a prototype game involving three activities to engage children in challenges related to SCDChronically ill student players expressed that the game was captivating and highly neededhoweverthey did not demonstrate increases in STEM content knowledge and expressed an alarmingly low level of disease literacyFor these reasonsour Phase II grant will lead to the creation of a series of games with supplementalremedial education materialsa digital graphic and text and or audiodepending on findings from our research with SCD gamesthat will strengthen usersandaposabilities to correctly answer challenge questionscomplete systems biology missionsand report findings to STEM professionalsAssessing how studentspatientsand their families interact with remedial materials in the context of the gameand how usage relates to advancement through the gamewill contribute to the growing body of STEM game literature and will answer our research questionWhat is the optimal mode of delivery for STEM educational content within IDM to promote increases in content knowledge and intent to persist in STEMOnce we understand how players learn STEM and disease based concepts within IDMwe will apply and extend this knowledge to children with Asthma and DiabetesThis suite of Hemonauts IDM will be piloted with patients receiving in hospital treatmenttheir parentsand siblingsFamily members can explore diseases via graphic novels and videos and complete STEM missions that simulate real world disease challengesAs additional componentswe will offer the Hemonauts games and supplemental materials in both English and Spanish and develop in app functions to track patient symptoms and appointmentsconnect with support groupsand communicate non emergency information to healthcare providers Project Narrative This project seeks to understand how players learn STEM and disease based concepts within the context of IDMThrough research and iterative designwe will determine which mode of content deliveryagraphic and textbgraphic and audioorcgraphictextand audioleads to the intended outcomes of increased STEM content knowledgeincreased knowledge of and intent to persist in STEM careersand increased disease literacy to improve patient self advocacytreatment complianceand to promote healthy lifestyle choicesThe Hemonauts games will focus on three common illnessesSickle Cell DiseaseAsthmaand Diabetesto support children who frequently miss school due to hospitalizations and their families through fundiseasebased gameplayopportunities to learn more about disease physiologyand an all in one product to track symptomsplan appointmentsand interact with their doctors!