Digital Artefacts LLC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: 999

Description

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant As the average lifespan increases staying mentally sharp into old age is becoming a major concern for millions of individuals Neuroscience has developed a deep understanding of the factors influencing life long brain health with both genetic and lifestyle factors playing a large role how our brains age For example cardiovascular health education eating habits and stress have all been shown to directly influence cognitive capacity and brain function As a result behavioral choices important for maintaining a healthy body are also important for maintaining a healthy brain However disseminating this information and influencing behavioral change in a large portion of the population has been difficult To this end the aims of this study are to build a game based informational tool to educate middle and high school students about the factors that influence how their brain ages and how the choices they make can directly impact their brain health The `Brain Gardenandapos is based on an exhibit designed by Digital Artefacts for the National Academy of Sciencesandapos Marian Koshland Science Museum and presents individuals with scenarios and choices illustrating how genetics environment and behaviors influence and shape brain development and cognitive ability The application will be designed for use on both the web and mobile devices taking advantage of the reach and graphics capabilities of these media to convey information in an engaging manner that will lead to better education and increased likelihood of behavioral change The specific aims of this proposal are as follows Aim Adapt the `Brain Gardenandapos to a standalone game for use on the web and mobile devices We will adapt original content to align with STEM middle school and high school curriculum in addition to adding account management infrastructure and gameplay attributes aimed at increasing engagement e g scoring and leaderboards This will be conducted in collaboration with the Koshland Science Museum and vetted by their scientific review board Aim Evaluate the ability of the Brain Garden application to increase usersandapos knowledge of how genetics environment and behavior shape brain development and cognitive ability Evaluation will be performed through facilitated focus groups comprised of visitors to the Koshland Science Museumandapos s Idea Lab n as well as online by visitors to the Koshland Science Museum website n Prior to interacting with the game participants will be given a `pre testandapos that asks a series of basic questions regarding their knowledge of how specific factors influence brain health without performance feedback They will then interact with the game for three rounds of game play approximately minutes and complete a post test containing a set of questions that assess identical content areas as those encountered in the pre test along with additional questions designed to probe their ability to extrapolate the key messages from the game to novel situations For each user change scores will be calculated by subtracting pre test scores from post test scores allowing us to assess gameplay related to changes in knowledge PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE andquot It is important that the American public understands that their quality of health is defined by lifestyle habits If this message is understood people can begin t live longer and reduce the healthcare burden to society Therefore this FOA also encourages STEM Games that will stimulate behavioral changes towards a healthier lifestyle The Brain Garden is the first game devoted specifically to enhancing middle and high school studentsandapos knowledge of brain health and would provide an engaging educational tool that could be used for disseminating brain health information to diverse populations A future Phase II application will focus on disseminating this product to consumers and classrooms and using the data acquired through the application to determine `baselineandapos levels of brain health knowledge across the population that would allow for targeted educational campaigns and interventions for specific demographics of individuals