Children learn asthma care while playing a game
Children learn asthma care while playing a game
Action cards based on actual patient comments
A board game to teach children how to manage asthma symptoms is being developed at Phoenix (AZ) Children's Hospital by health care professionals who staff the Breathmobile.
This mobile, self-contained asthma clinic provides free care to students at about 20 schools in the Phoenix metropolitan area. According to Audrey Schoonmaker, RN, BSN, a clinical nurse with the Breathmobile, children who are uninsured or underinsured find this service useful.
When the Breathmobile is parked at a school, children from the surrounding area are welcome to come for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, as well. When children reach the age of 18, every effort is made to transition them to adult services.
"Our goal when we started in 1999 was to decrease the amount of deaths of children due to asthma, as well as to decrease the number of missed work days and missed school days, because asthma is a financial burden on families and communities. Yet asthma is one of the most easily treated chronic illnesses for children," says Schoonmaker.
Education for these students and their parents, who are required to come to the appointment, is an important element of the treatment. Currently, families are given a book chosen by the parent advisory committee that is written at about a fifth-grade reading level and has lots of illustrations. In addition to the book, families are given one-on-one, individualized education, so if they are unable to read additional educational materials, strategies are incorporated such as pasting photos of a child's medications on a print-out of a clock. That way, parents know what time to administer the medicine.
The board game is a new tool that came about following a survey of the parent advisory committee that asked their opinion of the best way to learn. Methods for learning included games, video, verbal instruction, and reading, and 95% of those surveyed chose games.
Schoonmaker says the parent advisory committee is always consulted when changes to the program are considered. Often, what staff think will work for children and their families is quite different from what the group actually advises, she adds.
To design the game, Schoonmaker talked with children about the types of games they liked to play, and all were very familiar with Monopoly. Therefore, the first game format was similar to Monopoly. However, a quick telephone call to the company that produces the game determined that the question-and-answer format they had created for the Monopoly-style game board was a problem because it did not follow the traditional game rules.
Education as play
A new game board was created in the shape of a pair of lungs, and children progress across the board by answering questions about asthma correctly. As they do, they collect cards with pictures of the equipment they need to manage their asthma.
"The goal of the game is for the player to collect all the necessary equipment to take care of his or her asthma," says Schoonmaker.
Questions asked include why it is important to take asthma medication daily and what might trigger asthma.
While some of the spaces result in questions that earn equipment cards if answered correctly, other spaces result in the receipt of an action card. These cards contain statements such as "You went to your grandmother's house for the weekend and you didn't take your medicine. Now, you are sick." Players are penalized for their actions. For example, they may lose a turn because they have to be hospitalized.
The action cards were based on stories staff members actually hear from patients and families who come to the mobile clinic.
During the preliminary research just completed, the questions were evaluated for overall difficulty according to age group. Also, children were asked if they liked playing the game; what they thought was the best part of the game; if anything about the game was confusing; and if they had any ideas to improve the game.
The data that were collected will be evaluated. However a few observations were made during play that will determine how the game is used. Schoonmaker says children need an adult facilitator, because often all the correct answers to a question won't fit on a card. For example, a child may name a trigger that is not on the card.
Data were not only collected by playing the game with patients who come to the mobile clinic, but also at two summer asthma camps, as well. The data should help determine which age group is appropriate and how to use the game.
Staff envision using the game at the schools they serve, working with the students who have asthma in order to teach them how to proactively manage the disease. It also might be used at physician offices, says Schoonmaker.
A pharmaceutical company provided the funding to develop the game, and additional funds will be sought to produce and distribute it once the research is complete.
SOURCE
For more information about the asthma education board game, contact:
Audrey Schoonmaker, RN, BSN, Clinical Nurse, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Arizona. Telephone: (602) 546-0345. E-mail: [email protected].
A board game to teach children how to manage asthma symptoms is being developed at Phoenix (AZ) Children's Hospital by health care professionals who staff the Breathmobile.Subscribe Now for Access
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