An Escape Game on University Students’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cocreation Study
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on students’ mental health. Interventions are needed to promote their psychological well-being and prevent mental illnesses in the aftermath of this unprecedented situation. Digital escape games can be an effective tool...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2024-03-01
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| Series: | JMIR Serious Games |
| Online Access: | https://games.jmir.org/2024/1/e48545 |
| _version_ | 1797257859472293888 |
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| author | David Labrosse Clara Vié Hana Hajjam Clément Tisseron Dimitri Thellier Ilaria Montagni |
| author_facet | David Labrosse Clara Vié Hana Hajjam Clément Tisseron Dimitri Thellier Ilaria Montagni |
| author_sort | David Labrosse |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on students’ mental health. Interventions are needed to promote their psychological well-being and prevent mental illnesses in the aftermath of this unprecedented situation. Digital escape games can be an effective tool to support students’ mental health. A cocreation approach can improve the acceptability of these interventions by involving different stakeholders (eg, end users, game designers, and health professionals) to obtain audience-specific games.
ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the process of testing and optimizing the game “EscapeCovid” on students’ mental health, to serve as a model for the cocreation of future similar interventions.
MethodsThe PRODUCES (Problem, Objective, Design, End Users, Cocreators, Evaluation, Scalability) framework was used. Cocreation steps (test and optimization) were detailed for replicability. A total of 45 students tested a pilot version of the game, with 10 undergoing a semistructured interview. Meetings with a group of stakeholders and brainwriting were organized to optimize the game.
ResultsWe produced a new version of the game incorporating the suggestions provided by student testers and following the stakeholders’ guidelines. Improvements were made to both the content and the form of the new version of the pilot game. The storyline, including the protagonist and the scenes, was adapted to the student population.
ConclusionsOur results suggested that cocreation can contribute to the design of more widely accepted interventions aimed at promoting mental health and preventing psychological disorders. Results also suggest that an end user–centered approach can facilitate intervention tailoring. When conceiving a health-related escape game for students, we recommend using the cocreation approach to enhance players’ experience, thus positively influencing their learning process and overall well-being. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:44:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d68044233e54390bd4dd9670ef6bf5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2291-9279 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:44:20Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Serious Games |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d68044233e54390bd4dd9670ef6bf5b2024-03-18T14:15:32ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Serious Games2291-92792024-03-0112e4854510.2196/48545An Escape Game on University Students’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cocreation StudyDavid Labrossehttps://orcid.org/0009-0003-4701-8646Clara Viéhttps://orcid.org/0009-0005-6053-7963Hana Hajjamhttps://orcid.org/0009-0006-7901-4350Clément Tisseronhttps://orcid.org/0009-0009-8783-1125Dimitri Thellierhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7724-7755Ilaria Montagnihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0076-0010 BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on students’ mental health. Interventions are needed to promote their psychological well-being and prevent mental illnesses in the aftermath of this unprecedented situation. Digital escape games can be an effective tool to support students’ mental health. A cocreation approach can improve the acceptability of these interventions by involving different stakeholders (eg, end users, game designers, and health professionals) to obtain audience-specific games. ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the process of testing and optimizing the game “EscapeCovid” on students’ mental health, to serve as a model for the cocreation of future similar interventions. MethodsThe PRODUCES (Problem, Objective, Design, End Users, Cocreators, Evaluation, Scalability) framework was used. Cocreation steps (test and optimization) were detailed for replicability. A total of 45 students tested a pilot version of the game, with 10 undergoing a semistructured interview. Meetings with a group of stakeholders and brainwriting were organized to optimize the game. ResultsWe produced a new version of the game incorporating the suggestions provided by student testers and following the stakeholders’ guidelines. Improvements were made to both the content and the form of the new version of the pilot game. The storyline, including the protagonist and the scenes, was adapted to the student population. ConclusionsOur results suggested that cocreation can contribute to the design of more widely accepted interventions aimed at promoting mental health and preventing psychological disorders. Results also suggest that an end user–centered approach can facilitate intervention tailoring. When conceiving a health-related escape game for students, we recommend using the cocreation approach to enhance players’ experience, thus positively influencing their learning process and overall well-being.https://games.jmir.org/2024/1/e48545 |
| spellingShingle | David Labrosse Clara Vié Hana Hajjam Clément Tisseron Dimitri Thellier Ilaria Montagni An Escape Game on University Students’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cocreation Study JMIR Serious Games |
| title | An Escape Game on University Students’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cocreation Study |
| title_full | An Escape Game on University Students’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cocreation Study |
| title_fullStr | An Escape Game on University Students’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cocreation Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Escape Game on University Students’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cocreation Study |
| title_short | An Escape Game on University Students’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cocreation Study |
| title_sort | escape game on university students mental health during the covid 19 pandemic cocreation study |
| url | https://games.jmir.org/2024/1/e48545 |
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