A Serious Game for Promoting Knowledge about Suicidal Thoughts for Students at Higher Education

Thomas Bjørner*, Sofie Daniel Andersen, Emilie Sommer Freltoft, Kristine Fogh Andersen, Marius Frederik Qvarnstrøm, Mie Møller Enevoldsen, Nicolai Lennart Larsson, Stacia Suwan Sørensen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to book/anthology/report/conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The number of university students with suicidal thoughts is alarmingly high, and there is a general taboo about suicidal thoughts. This study aimed to investigate whether a serious game could promote engagement and increase knowledge about suicidal thoughts among students in higher education. The developed game had implemented five mini-games with various focus and interactive elements. This study included 82 university students, and the evaluation
was based on a knowledge test, 17 items in an engagement questionnaire, and in-depth interviews with four students. The gained knowledge was evaluated by four questions in a true/false test with 34 students from an experimental gaming group and 48 students from a non-gaming control group. The results from the knowledge test revealed that the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group. The results from the
engagement questionnaire showed very high engagement for the game, especially within the sensory appeal and for the story and character. All four interviewed participants enjoyed and appreciated the game while expressing confusion about the goal and interactions in the minigames.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGoodIT '24: : Proceedings of the 2024 International Conference on Information Technology for Social Good
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Publication date2024
Pages342-349
ISBN (Electronic)979-8-4007-1094-0/24/09
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

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