Triad Interactive Media, Inc. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: 113

Description

PROJECT SUMMARY Each year over Americans die from lung cancer caused by exposure to radon in their homes These deaths are preventable through awareness testing and remediation yet hundreds of educational programs have over the last have not had any appreciable impact This project will overcome the critical barrier to promoting awareness testing and remediation of radon by adopting a novel and unique approach that relies on a push strategy via mandated health education classes rather than on traditional pull strategies where people must choose to seek out radon awareness education By targeting young children rather than adults our solution may also lead to lifelong knowledge and attitudes about radon testing and remediation that will make future homeowners more likely to test and remediate Students in our approach will develop knowledge and abilities that allow them to serve as change agents for their own homes by advocating for testing and remediation A joint team from Triad Interactive Media Inc and the University of North Dakota will design and develop a digital game that engages learners and provides essential information about radon Radon Awareness Health Initiative A Serious Game About Serious R isk RAHI will target middle school students in mandatory school health education classes It will be a standalone program that teachers can use with and integrate into their existing curriculum Phase I of the project will concentrate on designing and developing the first level of a serious game and a Web portal with a suite of supplementary educational resources for teachers and parents These materials will help to ensure effective classroom integration and parent student collaboration at home since it is ultimately parents who will make the decisions about testing and remediation of radon in homes In the game students will help a group of aliens the Rahi whose ship has crashed nearby and who need help to reach their extraction site on the other side of the neighborhood The Rahi are extremely sensitive to radon even a few seconds of exposure at levels above ppm can kill them The Rahi educate students about radon and in turn those students help them chart a path through the neighborhood using testing apparatus In Level there will always be a safe path through the neighborhood In Phase I the product will be beta tested in th grade health education classes in North Dakota ND to assess its usability and initial feasibility for increasing radon knowledge testing and remediation In Phase II of this project the rest of the game levels will be developed and will require students to advocate as change agents to get some homeowners to remediate so the Rahi have a path through the neighborhood In this manner the students will demonstrate their radon awareness by responding to questions counterarguments and confronting misconceptions from homeowners The product will then be tested across ND and neighboring states PROJECT NARRATIVE Each year over Americans die needlessly from lung cancer caused by exposure to radon in their homes Radon induced lung cancer is preventable but most individuals are not adequately aware of this danger To educate students and parents about the dangers of radon this project will design and develop a digital game that engages learners while providing essential information about radon radon testing and radon remediation