Game On! The Influence of Video Games on Understanding of Cancer-Based Therapies

The awareness of how cancer treatments work to stop the spread of cancers is poorly understood and could potentially be explained through methods of active learning. Re-Mission 1, developed by HopeLab Industries, is a computer game that can be used by pediatric cancer patients to educate and prepare...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:North American journal of psychology 2020-06, Vol.22 (2), p.221-241
Main Authors: Bacharz, Kelsey C, Howard, Jordan R, Smith, Patrick L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Cancer
Cancer diagnosis
Cancer patients
Cancer treatment
Caregivers
Child health
Childhood cancer
Chronic illnesses
Communication
Computer & video games
Diseases
Education
Health aspects
Health care
Health education
Information dissemination
Medical personnel training
Memory
Nature
Patient education
Patients
Pediatrics
Physiology
Retirement benefits
Teachers
Terminal illnesses
Video games
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The awareness of how cancer treatments work to stop the spread of cancers is poorly understood and could potentially be explained through methods of active learning. Re-Mission 1, developed by HopeLab Industries, is a computer game that can be used by pediatric cancer patients to educate and prepare them for what they will experience in terms of cancer progression and treatment (Tate, Haritatos, & Cole, 2009). Pediatric patients who played this game were found to have improved motivation and self-understanding of their illness (Kato, Cole, Bradlyn, & Pollack, 2008). Seeing the success of Re-Mission 1, ReMission 2, a series of six different games that includes Re-Mission 2: Nanobot's Revenge, was developed. The purpose of the present study was to see if Re-Mission 2: Nanobot's Revenge would lead to an understanding of cancer physiology in the same way as Re-Mission 1, as well as to compare the relative effectiveness of text- and game-based materials in terms of their educational value (at short- and long-term intervals). The results indicated that playing Re-Mission 2: Nanobot's Revenge yielded significant educational benefits similar to Re-Mission 1. Furthermore, while both the text- and game-based methods were effective educational tools for teaching participants about cancer physiology and treatment, the text-based method led to significantly higher memory recall than the game-based method. The use of video games further aided in memory persistence, which is important for the long-term nature of cancer diagnoses and accompanying treatments.
ISSN:1527-7143