Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2026
05:59
Visualization of Intensity Levels to Reduce the Gap Between Self-Reported and Directly Measured Physical Activity
Published on: March 7, 2019
6.8K
Effect of a Mobile Game-Based Intervention to Enhance Child Safety: Randomized Controlled Trial
Rosa S Wong1, Keith T S Tung2, Frederick K W Ho3
1Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China (Hong Kong).
Journal of Medical Internet Research
|February 14, 2024
Summary
Playing the Safe City mobile game improved children's safety knowledge and reduced unsafe behaviors and internalizing problems. This serious game shows potential for technology-driven safety education and injury prevention in children.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Health Education Technology
- Serious Games Research
Background:
- Serious games show promise in health education, but their impact on children's psychosocial well-being is under-researched.
- Existing research has not extensively explored the effects of digital game-based interventions on children's general psychosocial outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a mobile game, Safe City, designed for safety education in Hong Kong children.
- To assess the game's impact on children's safety knowledge, behaviors, and psychosocial well-being.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 340 children (grades 4-6) in Hong Kong.
- Intervention group played the Safe City mobile game for 4 weeks; control group received a safety booklet.
- Safety knowledge, behaviors, and psychosocial problems were assessed at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months post-intervention.
Main Results:
- Higher engagement with the Safe City game correlated with improved safe behaviors and reduced internalizing problems at 3 months.
- Performance in specific mini-games predicted enhanced safety knowledge at both 1 and 3 months post-intervention.
- No significant overall mean differences were found between the game intervention and the booklet control group.
Conclusions:
- The Safe City mobile game demonstrates potential for improving children's safety knowledge and reducing negative psychosocial outcomes.
- Findings support the use of serious games as effective, technology-driven tools for safety education and injury prevention.
- Mobile game-based interventions can positively influence children's psychological and social well-being in educational contexts.
Related Concept Videos
01:13Randomized Experiments
The randomization process involves assigning study participants randomly to experimental or control groups based on their probability of being equally assigned. Randomization is meant to eliminate selection bias and balance known and unknown confounding factors so that the control group is similar to the treatment group as much as possible. A computer program and a random number generator can be used to assign participants to groups in a way that minimizes bias.
Simple randomization
Simple...
Simple randomization
Simple...
02:01Group Design
The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The two groups are designed to be the same except for one difference— experimental manipulation. The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested—and the control group does not. Since experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, we can be sure that any differences between the two are due to...
01:12What is an Experiment?
An experiment is a planned activity carried out under controlled conditions. The purpose of an experiment is to investigate the relationship between two variables. When one variable causes change in another, we call the first variable the explanatory or independent variable. The affected variable is called the response or dependent variable. In a randomized experiment, the researcher manipulates values of the explanatory variable and measures the resulting changes in the response variable. The...
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Biopharmaceutical studies constitute a vital field aiming to enhance drug delivery methods and refine therapeutic approaches, drawing upon diverse interdisciplinary knowledge. In research methodologies, the choice between controlled and non-controlled studies significantly influences the study's reliability and accuracy.
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast, controlled...