Back to homepage

Engagement through gamification: comparing participant experiences between a serious game and an online self-help module for alcohol misuse and depression

First published: 09 May 2019 | Last updated: 20 May 2019

The widespread popularly of computer games as an entertainment medium has led to their expanded use in more serious applications of training and education. The assertion being that gamification provides opportunity for greater engagement and processing of information than traditional online programs.

Aims: This paper presents findings from a think aloud verbal protocol study comparing participant experiences with a serious game and a traditional online program developed for individuals with comorbidity of depression and alcohol use disorders.

Methods: This research uses the concurrent think aloud verbal protocol technique to explore how participants respond to a serious game (Shadow) and a traditional online intervention program (SHADE). Shadow has been designed using key chapters of SHADE to support skill development and improve completion rates of participants. The game elements present in Shadow are believed to provide a repeatable and more enjoyable experience than SHADE alone. Ten participants, 5 male and 5 female, within the ages of 18-30 were recruited. Participants completed two phases of the study, an evaluation of Shadow and an evaluation of SHADE. These evaluations were carried out in two separate sessions at least a week apart. The order of evaluation was randomised. One coding frame was developed to classify all utterances.

Results and Conclusions: Evidence will be presented of what participant utterances revealed about engagement with the two alternative programs. Analysis revealed differences in levels of engagement and immersion between participants and interventions. The extent to which each program enabled participants to make sense of the material and the relevance to their own experience will be considered. Finally, the potential for serious games to be an alternative to traditional online programs for addressing alcohol misuse will be discussed.

Resources



Listen to the presentation audio

Audio of this presentation is available on Soundcloud below:

Alternatively, please visit the Sound Cloud website to listen

Report Author

Dr Bridgette Bewick

Associate Professor, University of Leeds


Dr Bridgette Bewick, Associate Professor at University of Leeds, has a track record of high quality publications that have aided our understanding of the drinking behaviour of young people and of web-based interventions. She seeks to understand how personalised feedback interventions can help intervene early with individuals who are drinking problematically. Bridgette’s work has increased our understanding of drinking behaviour and she has led the development of an effective behaviour change electronic screening and brief intervention tool (www.unitcheck.co.uk). The development and evaluation of Unitcheck means universities now have a resource that enables their students to receive feedback that is associated with reductions in alcohol use. More recently Bridgette has used her expertise in generating effective personalised feedback, in collaboration with the Leeds Addiction Unit, to develop an online intervention for client-centred screening and self-referral by problem drinkers recently admitted to hospital (www. ChangeDrinking.com); the website structure and content are modelled on motivational dialogue. Bridgette’s substantial contribution to research and practice in the addictions field was recognised in 2012 by her being awarded the ‘SSA Fred Yates Prize Researcher of the Year’. Bridgette is a world expert on the use of the Social Norms Approach and has a particular interest in the ability for engagement with personalised feedback to be encouraged by embedding the social norms approach in prevention and early intervention message development and implementation strategy. Bridgette continues to develop ways for e-health solutions to support dissemination of tools that enable individuals to consider their own drinking behaviour and think through their potential to change.

Read Full Biography