IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i9p2027-d170301.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving Sexual Health Education Programs for Adolescent Students through Game-Based Learning and Gamification

Author

Listed:
  • Hussein Haruna

    (Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China)

  • Xiao Hu

    (Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China)

  • Samuel Kai Wah Chu

    (Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China)

  • Robin R. Mellecker

    (Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China)

  • Goodluck Gabriel

    (Animation Creation Department, Innovative Development Tanzania, 63 Galu Street, Ada Estate, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania)

  • Patrick Siril Ndekao

    (Directorate of Library Services, Institute of Finance Management, 5 Shaaban Robert Street 11101, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania)

Abstract

An effective innovative pedagogy for sexual health education is required to meet the demands of technology savvy digital natives. This study investigates the extent to which game-based learning (GBL) and gamification could improve the sexual health education of adolescent students. We conducted a randomized control trial of GBL and gamification experimental conditions. We made a comparison with traditional teaching as a control condition in order to establish differences between the three teaching conditions. The sexual health education topics were delivered in a masked fashion, 40-min a week for five weeks. A mixed-method research approach was uses to assess and analyze the results for 120 students from a secondary school in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Students were divided into groups of 40 for each of the three teaching methods: GBL, gamification, and the control group (the traditional teaching method). The average post-test scores for GBL (Mean = 79.94, SD = 11.169) and gamification (Mean = 79.23, SD = 9.186) were significantly higher than the control group Mean = 51.93, SD = 18.705 ( F (2, 117) = 54.75, p = 0.001). Overall, statistically significant differences ( p ≤ 0.05) were found for the constructs of Motivation, Attitude, Knowledge, and Engagement (MAKE). This study suggests that the two innovative teaching approaches can be used to improve the sexual health education of adolescent students. The methods can potentially contribute socially, particularly in improving sexual health behaviour and adolescents’ knowledge in regions plagued by years of sexual health problems, including HIV/AIDS.

Suggested Citation

  • Hussein Haruna & Xiao Hu & Samuel Kai Wah Chu & Robin R. Mellecker & Goodluck Gabriel & Patrick Siril Ndekao, 2018. "Improving Sexual Health Education Programs for Adolescent Students through Game-Based Learning and Gamification," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-26, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:9:p:2027-:d:170301
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/9/2027/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/9/2027/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hussein Haruna & Xiao Hu & Samuel Kai Wah Chu, 2018. "Adolescent School-Based Sexual Health Education and Training: A Literature Review on Teaching and Learning Strategies," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(3), pages 172-172, March.
    2. Hyde, Abbey & Howlett, Etaoine & Brady, Dympna & Drennan, Jonathan, 2005. "The focus group method: Insights from focus group interviews on sexual health with adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(12), pages 2588-2599, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Petra Macounová & Hana Tomášková & Anna Šnajdrová & Markéta Stanovská & Martina Polochová & Ivan Tomášek & Rastislav Maďar, 2021. "Education of Adolescents in the Prevention of HIV/AIDS in the Czech Republic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-12, June.
    2. Alfonso D. Gajardo Sánchez & Luis R. Murillo-Zamorano & Joséà ngel López-Sánchez & Carmen Bueno-Muñoz, 2023. "Gamification in Health Care Management: Systematic Review of the Literature and Research Agenda," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    3. Devi Leena Bose & Anhad Hundal & Sabina Singh & Shweta Singh & Kuhika Seth & Saif ul Hadi & Ashrita Saran & Jessy Joseph & Kriti Goyal & Solomon Salve, 2023. "Evidence and gap map report: Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) interventions for strengthening HIV prevention and research among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in low‐ and middl," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(1), March.
    4. Luis Miguel Dos Santos, 2021. "Promoting Sexual Health Knowledge through a Social Workers’ Mentorship Programme: A Study of Gay Young Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-18, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stead, Martine & McDermott, Laura & MacKintosh, Anne Marie & Adamson, Ashley, 2011. "Why healthy eating is bad for young people's health: Identity, belonging and food," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(7), pages 1131-1139, April.
    2. Eunyoung Kim & Eunkyoung Hwang, 2017. "Analysis of the Current Scoring Distribution by Evaluation Criteria in Korean Long-Life Housing Certification System Cases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Silvennoinen, Piia & Rantanen, Teemu, 2023. "Digital agency of vulnerable people as experienced by rehabilitation professionals," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Edwin van Teijlingen & Jennifer Reid & Janet Shucksmith & Fiona Harris & Kate Philip & Mari Imamura & Janet Tucker & Gillian Penney, 2007. "Embarrassment as a Key Emotion in Young People Talking about Sexual Health," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, March.
    5. Walter C. Millanzi & Kalafunja M. Osaki & Stephen M. Kibusi, 2023. "Parent-adolescent communication about sexual and reproductive health and its determinants among adolescents: Baseline findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Tanzania," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    6. Aventin, Áine & Lohan, Maria & O’Halloran, Peter & Henderson, Marion, 2015. "Design and development of a film-based intervention about teenage men and unintended pregnancy: Applying the Medical Research Council framework in practice," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 19-30.
    7. Zeng, Michael A. & Koller, Hans & Jahn, Reimo, 2019. "Open radar groups: The integration of online communities into open foresight processes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 204-217.
    8. Jude Mikal & Kathryn Grace & Jack DeWaard & Molly Brown & Gabriel Sangli, 2020. "Domestic migration and mobile phones: A qualitative case study focused on recent migrants to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, August.
    9. Julius Sim & Jackie Waterfield, 2019. "Focus group methodology: some ethical challenges," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(6), pages 3003-3022, November.
    10. Isabelle Brault & Kelley Kilpatrick & Danielle D’Amour & Damien Contandriopoulos & Véronique Chouinard & Carl-Ardy Dubois & Mélanie Perroux & Marie-Dominique Beaulieu, 2014. "Role Clarification Processes for Better Integration of Nurse Practitioners into Primary Healthcare Teams: A Multiple-Case Study," Nursing Research and Practice, Hindawi, vol. 2014, pages 1-9, December.
    11. MacLean, Alice & Sweeting, Helen & Hunt, Kate, 2010. "'Rules' for boys, 'guidelines' for girls: Gender differences in symptom reporting during childhood and adolescence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(4), pages 597-604, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:9:p:2027-:d:170301. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.