As the virus continues to spread rapidly across the globe, particularly in our country, the pressure on health workers to perform their jobs correctly and efficiently has never been more. Their demanding job calls for the individuals to work well under stressful situations with utmost care and composure.
With this in mind, Swiss tech enthusiasts at the Geneva University Hospitals created a game called “Escape Covid-19”, which aims to give health workers an escape and a chance to unwind while also recreating situations they may face on the job.
Through these simulations, the health workers gain more insight and knowledge on how to combat the virus in real life.
How The Game Works
The game was created as an attempt to change the real-world behaviour of the frontline workers in order to curb the spread of the virus. The challenges confronted by the players range from scenarios they face in the hospital to even simple tasks like leaving their homes to their commute.
A demonstration of the game by Swiss doctor Dr Melanie Suppan, who was one of the brains behind the project, gave a clearer picture of how the game works.
In the game, she first wakes up with a cold and cough and decides to test herself before heading to work. Once her result comes back as negative, and she heads to the hospital, the game gets more complicated.
She is then presented with various scenarios related to tackling the virus on the job. For instance, one of the scenarios was:
“A trainee asks you in which situation(s) an N95/FFP2 mask should be worn instead of a standard mask.”
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The game, in this manner, creates a fun and entertaining atmosphere for the health workers and keeps them engaged with these different situations.
The game is available in multiple languages — English, Italian, German and French — and is open to health workers in any part of the world. One can find the game on the site https://escape-covid19.ch/en/.
How Will It Help Prevent The Spread?
The spread of coronavirus has indicated that there is a need to incite behavioural change even amongst health professionals. There are cases of asymptomatic frontline workers spreading the disease to patients, especially to those who were previously non-covid patients.
Usually, healthcare workers are so accustomed to working long hours without letting a cough or sneeze prevent them from carrying out their jobs. But now, it is important to change that behaviour and to ensure that people are more mindful of their symptoms.
Professor Stephen Habarth, who helped provide the protocol and procedural expertise for the game said that the game has truly benefited the workers. According to him, “We see that a playful game, along with other communication methods, is more effective in helping people change their behaviour.”
When a study was conducted to compare whether a manual was more effective in bringing about a behavioural change than the game, it was found that the game proved to be nearly 3 times more effective.
In the near future, there is hope that using technology this way and creating light-hearted and fun games could prove to be successful in spreading important medical messages to frontline workers.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: NDTV, Economic Times, France 24
Find the blogger: @MalavikaMenon28
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