Lockdown! Learning public health of infectious diseases through gameplay

ABSTRACTThe COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the detrimental effects of a lack of understanding of public health measures. During the pandemic, lockdowns, social distancing, and mask mandates introduced by governments were met with skepticism, doubt, and an unwillingness to comply, increasing the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Evelyn Goh, Anna Szücs, Victor Weng Keong Loh, Yann Felix Boucher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2023-12-01
Series:Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jmbe.00095-23
Description
Summary:ABSTRACTThe COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the detrimental effects of a lack of understanding of public health measures. During the pandemic, lockdowns, social distancing, and mask mandates introduced by governments were met with skepticism, doubt, and an unwillingness to comply, increasing the extent of negative outcomes as a result. Albeit devastating, the pandemic has offered an invaluable opportunity to observe the correlation between the prevalence of public health education and compliance with public health measures during critical times. In this article, we describe a card game that was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to educate the public (including children) about how specific public health measures address the pandemic and how global cooperation is essential in addressing even one country’s problems. The game can be used in primary, secondary, or tertiary education classrooms, initiating conversations about the topic and providing a basic understanding before more in-depth learning.
ISSN:1935-7877
1935-7885