Assessing the Impact of a Serious Game (MedSMARxT: Adventures in PharmaCity) in Improving Opioid Safety Awareness Among Adolescents and Parents: Quantitative Study

Abstract

Background The opioid crisis continues to worsen across the United States, affecting people of all demographics. Few evidence-based interventions exist for educating families, particularly those with adolescents, about opioid prescription safety. Serious games have demonstrated impacts in improving medication-related outcomes for various health conditions. The characterizing goal of this serious game is to improve opioid safety knowledge and awareness among adolescents and their families. Objective This study evaluated the impact of a serious game, MedSMARxT: Adventures in PharmaCity, designed to foster opioid safety awareness among adolescents and their parents. Methods A national sample of parents and their adolescent children was recruited through Qualtrics research panels, social media, listservs, and snowball sampling. Eligible participants were adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years and their parents. Study participants were required to reside in the United States; speak, read, and understand English; and have access to a computer with a webcam. Parent-child dyads completed pregame and postgame surveys and participated in gameplay for up to 30 minutes. Primary outcome scales have been previously evaluated by the study team. Results A total of 60 adolescent participants and 68 parent participants met full attention criteria for inclusion in this study. Statistical analysis confirmed that both adolescents’ and parents’ concept scores improved from baseline regarding opioid safety self-efficacy (adolescent: mean 0.35, SD 0.60; P<.001; parent: mean 0.28, SD 0.42; P<.001), perceived knowledge (adolescent: mean 1.08, SD 1.04; P<.001; parent: mean 0.56, SD 0.55; P<.001), behavioral intent (adolescent: mean 0.26, SD 0.39; P<.001; parent: mean 0.25, SD 0.32; P<.001), safe storage (adolescent: mean 0.12, SD 0.27; P<.001; parent: mean 0.03, SD 0.11; P=.03), disposal knowledge (adolescent: mean 0.10, SD 0.27; P=.006; parent: mean 0.07, SD 0.16; P<.001), and knowledge about misuse behavior (adolescent: mean 0.05, SD 0.14; P=.002; parent: mean 0.04, SD 0.10; P<.001). Participant groups, stratified by who completed and who did not complete gameplay, improved their knowledge and awareness, with no significant differences between subgroups. Conclusions The use of this serious game to improve opioid prescription safety practices among parents and adolescents was supported by the study findings. MedSMARxT: Adventures in PharmaCity is an intervention with the capability of teaching parents and adolescents about safe opioid prescription practices. Further studies and game refinement are needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of a game-based intervention in clinical settings and community pharmacies.