Science

February 2015

PlayForward: A videogame that increases drug, alcohol, and sexual risk knowledge in teens

Abstract discussing the impact of PlayForward on drug/alcohol/sex-related (DAS) knowledge from the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. More >

January 2015

Serious Games for Sexual Health

A roundtable discussion with a panel of sexual health researchers on the place of serious games in furthering the field of sexual health. More >

October 2014

Videogames, Here for Good

The use of technology in health care is increasingly ubiquitous, and there is mounting evidence that videogames can serve as interventions to increase knowledge and effect behavior change in youth. More >

July 2014

Using What’s Learned in a Game to Use in Real Life

Challenging research is needed to clarify the factors influencing transfer of learning from games to real life. More >

June 2014

Game? Seriously?! A Candid Conversation with Ben Sawyer, Co-Founder of DigitalMill

Editor in Chief for the Games for Health Journal, Bill Ferguson, Phd, has a candid conversation with Ben Sawyer, Co-Founder of Digitalmill and the Serious Games Initiative. More >

February 2014

Game playbooks: tools to guide multidisciplinary teams in developing videogame-based behavior change interventions

Through the development of PlayForward: Elm City Stories, we developed a process that helps researchers and game developers work effectively together by creating what we have termed “Game Playbooks”. More >

February 2014

Novel Methods to Collect Meaningful Data from Adolescents for the Development of Health Interventions

The purpose of this article was to provide examples of three strategies we used to engage young adolescents in discussions surrounding their environment and future aspirations and to demonstrate the quality and utility of the data garnered from these activities. More >

January 2014

The use of message framing to promote sexual risk reduction in young adolescents: a pilot exploratory study

We recruited 26, 10 to 14 year-olds to participate in focus groups. We asked each adolescent to design a poster that advised their peers to “wait to have sex until they are much older so they can achieve their future goals and dreams” and instructed them to choose from the selection of images and messages we provided or to generate their own content. More >

April 2013

Electronic Media-Based Health Interventions Promoting Behavior Change in Youth

We conducted a systematic review to assess the type and quality of the studies evaluating the effects of electronic media–based interventions on health and safety behavior change in youth aged 18 years or younger. More >

July 2012

A Qualitative Study to Inform the Development of a Videogame for Adolescent Human Immunodeficiency Virus Protection

We conducted individual interviews and focus groups with 10–15 year-old boys and girls (36 unique participants) at a neighborhood-based nonprofit organization serving youth from low-resource neighborhoods in New Haven, CT. More >