Snakes and ladders in infectious diseases: creation and acceptance of a game to disseminate knowledge about dengue and leishmaniasis

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to create a Snakes and Ladders style board game to disseminate knowledge about dengue and leishmaniasis. To this end, a game was created with questions addressing the transmission, prevention, treatment, and symptoms of dengue and leishmaniasis. The game was applied during an activity linked to the University Extension Project “Girls in STEM”, with the participation of 255 students, enrolled in the 9th year of elementary school and high school. To verify acceptance of the game, an opinion survey was carried out. Most participants (94.5%) found the game easy to play; 98.5% enjoyed playing about different disease categories at the same time; 99.6% liked the way the questions on the card were asked; 98.9% liked the board format; 99.2% thought they learned information about different diseases using the game. It was possible to verify that the Snakes and Ladders board game about dengue and leishmaniasis had excellent acceptance among the applied public. Furthermore, the proposed gamification system can be adapted to other subjects or contexts, to assist in the school education process and improve the population's quality of life.