Tonight I watched the JMBE Live! session “Lockdown! Learning public health of infectious diseases through gameplay.” It was presented on March 19, 2024 by Yann Felix Boucher and Anna Szuecs and moderated Q&A by Stanley Maloy, JMBE EIC. Anna Szuecs is in Singapore and is a research fellow in the division of family medicine at the National University in Singapore. Yann Felix Boucher studies gastrointestinal illnesses and moved their lab from Canada. They both designed this game and published it as a Tips and Tools. Boucher moved to Singapore a month before the pandemic. They wanted to create a game for public health. Szuecs moved to Singapore right before the pandemic after being a medical doctor. They met walking their dogs, and Szuecs does graphical design as a hobby! Their department paid for the printing and box and the proceeds went to a clinic! There are cards for patients with different symptoms, health care providers, and solution cards. They described how the game works and explained how their families helped test and improve the gameplay. A local game company helped print and distribute the game: Capital Games. The rounds take about twenty minutes. Boucher and Szuecs have tried the game at his daughter’s primary school. They also teach with it and use it as an icebreaker. The game includes policy and public health interventions. Szuecs noted that children really look at the cards and ask questions about biology and public health. Boucher wants to try measuring learning gains at schools. While the game was designed around covid, it can be applied to other contexts and topics. The cards are designed to encourage curiosity and emphasize key concepts. The game can be purchased from the seller for about $20. The next game will likely focus on climate change and microbes. Online options and mobile apps were mentioned.
