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Improving Health Information Literacy with Games in the Virtual World of Second Life

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Virtual, Augmented Reality and Serious Games for Healthcare 1

Part of the book series: Intelligent Systems Reference Library ((ISRL,volume 68))

Abstract

This research project studied how innovative gaming methods using new technologies, such as the virtual world of Second Life, could be utilized to improve health information literacy, and possibly influence future health care decision making. The subject areas of heart attack, stroke and basic medical terminology were selected for interactive health games in Second Life since that platform already has been used extensively for educational purposes, especially in the areas of health promotion. The 3-D virtual world environment provided an immersive arena for developing creative methods of health information literacy delivery and outreach to a global, online community in real time. A key component of the study was the post-game survey asking participants if they had learned new health information and whether that information would be used for future health care decisions. The results are encouraging about the potential use of virtual reality as a platform for health games to improve health literacy.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to all who supported and believed in this research project in both worlds: Trinitas Nursing Advisory Team members: Connie Kozechek, MSN, CCRN, BC (Education), Debbie Milkosky RNC, BSN (Stroke Program Coordinator), Dolis Lebreault RN-BC, BSN (Cardiology), Karen A. Lukenda, RN, BSN, BC (Education & School of Nursing), Virtual Student Intern: Jacob Ratliff. Second LifeDr. Carol Perryman, Assistant Professor Library and Information Studies, Texas Women’s University and Guus Van Den Brekel, Medical Information Specialist, University Medical Center, Groningen, Netherlands: Healthinfo Island. Sheila Webber, Senior Lecturer Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK: Infolit iSchool. Gerald R. Stapleton, Dept. Medical Education, University of Illinois School of Medicine: Erudio Consortio NewWorld Initiative for Clinical Education. Evelyn McElhinney, Lecturer in Advanced Nursing Practice, GCU School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland: Glasgow Caledonian University. Barbara A. Galik, Bradley University Library. We would also like to thank the generosity of the following institutions, organizations and private businesses who freely offered their sites to host our health games: (1) Healthinfo Island, one of the original sites for virtual medical education and health created by medical librarians through a grant from the National Library of Medicine. (2) The University of Sheffield’s Infolit iSchool, England, whose literacy program incorporated our health literacy outreach into their mission (3) The Consumer Health Education Center’s site from Montclair State University, New Jersey (4) The University of Illinois College of Medicine’s NewWorld Center (5) Bradley University Library, Peoria, Illinois (6) Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, U.K. (7) Entropia, the Council on Library and Information Resources (8) Sprott-Shaw College Ann Myers Medical Center (9) EduIsland, Arizona, PBS (10) Etopia Solar-Eco Village (11) Virtua-E (12) Virtual Egypt (13) A Dinosaur park (14) A business center

Funding

This project was funded in part with federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. NO1-LM-6-3501 with New York University.

Awards

Recipient of the Medical Library Association Hospital Library Section Research Award, 2010. To the best of our knowledge, at the time of publication we are not aware of any other hospital library in New Jersey conducting a similar study using gaming applications within virtual reality to improve consumer health literacy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Trinitas Regional Medical Center Library, Elizabeth, NJ, USA

    Elisabeth Jacobsen Marrapodi

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  1. Elisabeth Jacobsen Marrapodi
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Correspondence to Elisabeth Jacobsen Marrapodi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Design Studio, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Minhua Ma

  2. Faculty of Education, Science, Technology & Mathematics, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia

    Lakhmi C. Jain

  3. Digital Design Studio, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Paul Anderson

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Marrapodi, E.J. (2014). Improving Health Information Literacy with Games in the Virtual World of Second Life. In: Ma, M., Jain, L., Anderson, P. (eds) Virtual, Augmented Reality and Serious Games for Healthcare 1. Intelligent Systems Reference Library, vol 68. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54816-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54816-1_10

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