Designing Video Games for Nutrition Education: A Participatory Approach

Objective To describe the participatory approach used to inform the development of a video game designed to increase children's nutrition knowledge. The objectives were to (1) assess children's nutrition areas of focus, (2) explore parents’ and children's perceptions of video games for nutrition education, and (3) collect information on children's video game preferences. Design Qualitative research design using 10 focus group interviews and 5 workshops. Children's nutrition knowledge and game player type were assessed by questionnaires. Setting South Island, New Zealand. Participants Sixty-two primary school children, aged 7–11 years. Ten parents completed an online questionnaire. Phenomenon of Interest Participatory approach in designing digital nutrition education resources. Analysis A general inductive approach was used to develop the themes. Results The following 3 themes were identified through thematic analysis: (1) positive impacts associated with video games for nutrition education, (2) factors for engagement, and (3) barriers for sustained use. Conclusions and Implications Both children and parents perceived that video games offered an avenue to increase nutrition knowledge. However, negative views such as screen time usage need to be addressed before widespread adoption. The participatory design approach provided information about game mechanics that will inspire the game design and enhance engagement of video games for nutrition education.