The Impact of Three Communication Channels on the Dissemination of a Serious Game Designed to Enhance COVID-19 Prevention

Mélanie Suppan (), Loric Stuby, Christophe Alain Fehlmann, Mohamed Abbas, Sophia Achab, Stephan Harbarth and Laurent Suppan
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Mélanie Suppan: Division of Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical Pharmacology, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Loric Stuby: Genève TEAM Ambulances, 1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Christophe Alain Fehlmann: Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical Pharmacology, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Mohamed Abbas: Infection Control Programme and WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Sophia Achab: Specialized Facility in Behavioral Addictions ReConnecte HUG, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Stephan Harbarth: Infection Control Programme and WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Laurent Suppan: Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Clinical Pharmacology, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-8

Abstract: Infection prevention interventions can only be effective if they are both well known and easily accessible. A randomized controlled trial showed that a serious game, “Escape COVID-19”, was significantly more effective at improving the intention of adopting adequate infection prevention behavior than regular guidelines among long-term care facility employees. However, less than a fifth of all potential participants were finally recruited in this study. To determine whether a specific communication intervention was more effective than another, we carried out a retrospective analysis of account creation data over a six-month period. During the first period (53 days), information about the serious game was disseminated by a part-time worker. The second period (15 days) corresponded to a press release, while the third period (15 days) reflected an official communication from the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. A total of 3995 accounts were created during the study period. Most accounts were created by health care workers (2699/3995, 67.6%). Median daily account creation was highest during the press release period (25; Q1:Q3 9:172) and lowest during the official communication period (6; Q1:Q3 4:20). The association between communication intervention and account creation was statistically significant both when considering the overall population ( p = 0.013) and when only analyzing health care workers ( p = 0.036).

Keywords: serious games; infection prevention and control; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; infodemiology; communication; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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