Game Design for Personal Health Management: An Emotional and Educational Perspective

This poster presents the efforts of a graduate student team that developed a board game design
to engage children living with diabetes, as well as their friends and parents, in personal health management. Diabetes has multi-leveled health and life style management requirements, and employing a game format can simplify complex concepts in appealing ways and motivate appropriate behavior. The students applied participatory design research methodologies to co- design with subject matter experts, educators, care providers, and end-users. The students utilized game design strategy, character design, and storytelling to develop an emotionally connected and fun activity where game players interact with each other while learning about personal health management. The authors summarized this collaborative design process and shared the learning experiences of the students.