Education on Preventing Early Childhood Injuries Using a Video Game: The VirtualSafeHome Platform-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

Education on Preventing Early Childhood Injuries Using a Video Game: The VirtualSafeHome Platform

Published:2023-04-20 Issue:2 Volume:63 Page:257-262
ISSN:0009-9228
Container-title:Clinical Pediatrics
language:en
Short-container-title:Clin Pediatr (Phila)

Author:

Woolf Alan D.¹²^ORCID,Jacobson Jeffrey³,Flanagan Shelby¹²,Weinstock Peter²³⁴

Affiliation:

1. Division of General Pediatrics, Pediatric Environmental Health Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

3. Immersive Design Systems (formerly SIMPeds), Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

4. Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Abstract

Poisonings and household injuries are frequent events among toddlers. We developed VirtualSafeHome (VSH)—a novel self-contained, Internet-based home-safety learning tool—to improve awareness of household hazards. Study aims were to investigate VSH usage characteristics. A prototype, screen-based VSH kitchen was built in Unity and delivered through the web using 3DVista and Wix. Players spot and click 21 embedded hazards. A unique feature is the ability to capture the “child’s perspective” in identifying hazards. We recruited a convenience sample of adults in 2021-2022. Outcomes included number of hazards discovered, session duration, and pretest/posttest knowledge scores. Twenty-four adults identified a median 15.5 hazards; median playing time was 1022 seconds. Players reported satisfaction with ease of navigation and game features. Mean pretest/posttest knowledge scores rose from 2.0 to 2.79 ( P < .035). A web-enabled video game can provide easily accessed, enjoyable training on home safety.

Funder

Funding sources: Supported by grants from the Division of General Pediatrics and from the Immersive Design Systems Center, both at Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health

Link

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/00099228231169262

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