Tamer Fakhouri, MD, of the Yale School of Medicine Play2PREVENT Lab provides an overview of the PlayForward game, including a description of the basic game mechanics, the research basis for its design (youth clinical trial) and future implications for the design and engineering of games for health. Presented at YTH Live 2014 session "Advancing Data Collection Methods."

1. Data Collection in Games for Health
Tamer Fakhouri, MD
Yale School of Medicine Play2PREVENT Lab
April 6-8, 2014
San Francisco, CA
Annual Conference on Youth + Tech + Health

2. • In 2009, 39% of new HIV infections were among
individuals aged 13-29 years, a 21% increase in
incidence since 2006
• The majority of cases are in ethnic minority individuals
and due to sexual contact
• 11-14 year olds may be an optimal window of
opportunity for primary HIV prevention
Why a Game About HIV?

3. • Touchscreen based
• RPG-like with over-arching story & persistent player
character that levels up
• 4 Mini games that focus on social skills needed to
avoid risky situations
• Designed to be played over 12 sessions
• Aligned closely with health behavior change theory
PlayForward: Elm City Stories

11. • Randomized, controlled trial
– Began February 26th 2013
– Enrolled 199 teens out of planned 330
– Players randomly assigned to either PlayForward: Elm City
Stories vs. a set of attention/time control games on iPad
– Subjects assessed for changes in behaviors/knowledge/
attitudes over time using standardized instruments
Evaluating the Efficacy of PlayForward

13. • Document changes in behaviors/knowledge/attitudes
over time using data collected from standardized
assessments
• Evaluate behavior change and knowledge collected
from in-game experience
• Explore the question: does behavior in a game reflect
what someone does in real life?
Goals

14. Game
data
collec+on

15. • Automatic recording of the player’s experience
• Computer software is used to parse millions of logged
events into a table of discrete variables
Video Game Event Logs – A New Data
Source for Behavior Change Research

16. 00:00 05:00 10:00
024681012
Total Game Time (Hours:Minutes)
TotalScore(Max12)
Levels Beaten Over Time

17. 00:00 05:00 10:00
024681012
Total Game Time (Hours:Minutes)
TotalScore(Max12)

18. Measuring Game Exposure

19. Game Progress Correlates with Gains in
Health Knowledge

20. -50
0
50
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Stacks beaten
%ChangeInKnowledgeScoreat3Months
Knowledge Score vs. Game Exposure

21. -50
0
50
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Stacks beaten
%ChangeInKnowledgeScoreat6Months
Knowledge Score vs. Game Exposure

22. • Measuring “exertion”
• Assessing the efficacy of the aspirational avatar
Future Directions

23. Tamer Fakhouri, MD
tfakhouri@gmail.com

24. The
play2PREVENT™
Lab
Science Side:
Lynn Fiellin, MD
Kimberly Hieftje, PhD
Lindsay Duncan, PhD
Cindy Crusto, PhD
E. Jennifer Edelman, MD
Deepa Camenga, MD
Marjorie Rosenthal, MD
Linda Mayes, MD
David Fiellin, MD
Peter Salovey, PhD
Brian Forsyth, MD
Gail Slap, MD
Tyra Pendergrass, MEM
M. Zachary Rosenthal, PhD
Tamer Fakhouri, MD
The
Community
Side:
• Farnam
Neighborhood
House
• LEAP
• Clinton
Avenue
School
Game
Side:
• Ben
Sawyer
(Digitalmill)
• Alex
Seropian
(Industrial
Toys)
• Schell
Games
Jesse
Schell
(Founder,
CMU)
Bonnie
Bogovich
(Audio
ArLst)
Derek
Hetrick
(Character
ArLst)
Heidi
McDonald
(Writer)
John
Kolencheryl
(Game
Engineer)
Josh
Hendryx
(Background
ArLst)
Manoj
Anand
(Producer)
Patrick
McKiernan
(Art
Manager)
Peter
Kinney
(Design
Intern)
Rebecca
Cordingley
(UI
ArLst)
Reagan
Heller
(Art
Director)
Rick
MatcheR
(Tech
Director)
Sabrina
Haskell
(Project
Director)
Samantha
Verlihay
(UI
ArLst)
• Noah
Falstein
(Google)
• McGivney
Community
Center
• John
MarLnez
School
• PALS

25. Supported
by
the
Eunice
Kennedy
Shriver
Na+onal
Ins+tute
of
Child
Health
and
Human
Development
grant:
R01HD062080
play2PREVENT Lab
www.play2PREVENT.org
Lynn Fiellin, MD
Principal Investigator
Kimberly Hieftje, PhD
Project Director
A
CollaboraLon
Between

26. www.play2PREVENT.org
Tamer Fakhouri, MD
Research Consultant
tfakhouri@gmail.com