Using a computer game to teach school-aged children about asthma

The purpose of this study was to determine whether playing Quest for the Code™, a computer game designed to teach children about asthma, would help healthy children acquire knowledge about and attitudes towards asthma and whether the beneficial effects would be maintained over time. The sample consisted of 155 children from four middle schools who were randomly assigned to play Quest for the Code™ or a game about nutrition serving as the control condition. Data were collected on knowledge and attitude pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at follow-up four weeks later. The results revealed that children who played Quest for the Code™ were more knowledgeable and had more positive attitudes than their peers in the control condition. And these benefits were maintained on follow-up tests. Our findings indicate the effectiveness and potential of using Quest for the Code™ as a tool for asthma education in a classroom setting.