COMPUTER GAME FOR DIABETES EDUCATION

THIS RESEARCH SEEKS TO DEVELOP AND EVALUATE AN EDUCATIONAL COMPUTER GAME FOR CHILDREN WITH DIABETES. THE GOAL IS TO IMPART ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND ENCOURAGE POSITIVE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS. DIABETES IS MANAGED LARGELY BY PATIENTS THEMSELVES; PATIENT KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE ARE CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF ANY TREATMENT. RAYA SYSTEMS HAS CREATED A PROTOTYPE ROLE- PLAYING COMPUTER GAME TO ADDRESS THESE NEEDS. IN THE FORMATIVE PHASE OF THIS STUDY, EXPERTS IN EDUCATION AND PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY WILL EVALUATE THIS PROTOTYPE, AND CHILDREN AT A PEDIATRIC DIABETES WARD WILL PLAY IT. THE PROTOTYPE WILL BE MODIFIED ON THE BASIS OF THIS EVALUATION. IN THE SUMMATIVE PHASE, THE STUDY ATTEMPTS TO ASSESS CHILDREN'S INTEREST IN COMPUTER GAMES AS EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL AND IDENTIFY WHICH TYPE OF CHILDREN RESPOND TO THE COMPUTER GAME MEDIUM BY CORRELATING THE CHILD'S PARTICIPATION IN DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT WITH INTEREST AND ATTENTION TO THE COMPUTER GAME. OUT-PATIENT CHILDREN TAKE SURVEYS ABOUT THEIR DIABETES MANAGEMENT REGIMEN AND THEN CHOOSE BETWEEN THE COMPUTER GAME AND A VIDEOTAPE. SEPARATELY, PARENTS ARE ALSO SURVEYED ABOUT DIABETES MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. WHEN THEY FINISH WITH THEIR ACTIVITY CHILDREN COMPLETE A SECOND QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEYING KEY INFORMATION RECALL, INTEREST IN BOTH THEIR PEERS AND THEIR OWN ADDITIONAL DIABETES EDUCATION, AND THE ACTIVITY ITSELF. THE FINAL REPORT WILL ASSESS THE GAME'S EFFECTIVENESS FOR DIABETES EDUCATION AND WILL RECOMMEND A DESIGN FOR A NINTENDO GAME. RAYA SYSTEMS IS A LICENSED NINTENDO DEVELOPER, AND IN PHASE II, THE NINTENDO GAME WILL BE PROGRAMMED. THE FINAL PRODUCT WILL BE MARKETED TO PEDIATRICIANS AND PARENTS WITH DIABETIC CHILDREN.