Abstract
Background: In response to a Grand Challenges in Global Health call for action to collect data about family planning intentions and increase the uptake of family planning methods in India, our team designed, developed, and piloted the My Future Family video game in Karnataka Province. The game educates adolescents about human sexuality and reproduction while asking players when they would like to achieve five important family planning milestones. Participants were also asked to report who influences them the most when making family planning decisions. Methods: Focus groups were conducted and the resulting data used to design the game which was iteratively tested and then piloted in 11 schools in rural and urban areas of southern India. Data was collected throughout gameplay and cross-checked with paper questionnaires. Results: In August 2017, we successfully piloted the game with 382 adolescents and validated its efficacy both as an educational tool and as an innovative means of accurate data collection. Conclusion: It has historically been problematic to gather accurate data about adolescents in India on this culturally sensitive topic for a variety of reasons. These include difficulties obtaining consent, developing appropriate survey methods, and framing questions in language that young people can understand. Our game met these challenges by working within a single school system with approval from senior administration, delivering information via a game environment which freed players from societal constraints, and communicating information via images and audio in addition to text in both English and Kannada (the local language).
Highlights
Reproductive health education is crucial to overall health, female empowerment, and economic development worldwide
Gaps in current survey methods (i.e. DHS6) result in very little available data on what adolescents desire from a family planning perspective and whether or not they know how to achieve those goals
Focus groups The principal findings gleaned from conversations with stakeholders were: 1. Adolescent reproductive health education: There was a clear paucity of structured sexual health education in schools and homes
Summary
Reproductive health education is crucial to overall health, female empowerment, and economic development worldwide. Our aim in this study was to develop, pilot, and assess an innovative tool: a tablet-based game which provides adolescents with information about puberty, reproductive health, and family planning while collecting data. In response to a Grand Challenges in Global Health call for action to collect data about family planning intentions and increase the uptake of family planning methods in India, our team designed, developed, and piloted the My Future Family video game in Karnataka Province. Conclusion: It has historically been problematic to gather accurate data about adolescents in India on this culturally sensitive topic for a variety of reasons These include difficulties obtaining consent, developing appropriate survey methods, and framing questions in language that young people can understand. Our game met these challenges by working within a single school system with approval from senior administration, delivering information via a game environment which freed players from societal constraints, and communicating information via images and audio in addition to text in both English and Kannada (the local language)
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