Findings in Health Insurance Reported from S. Champlin and Co-Researchers (Breaking Health Insurance Knowledge Barriers Through Games: Pilot Test of…

Findings in Health Insurance Reported from S. Champlin and Co-Researchers (Breaking Health Insurance Knowledge Barriers Through Games: Pilot Test of Health Care America)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Current study results on Health Insurance have been published. According to news reporting originating from Denton, Texas, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "Having health insurance is associated with a number of beneficial health outcomes. However, previous research suggests that patients tend to avoid health insurance information and often misunderstand or lack knowledge about many health insurance terms."

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research, "Health insurance knowledge is particularly low among young adults. The purpose of this study was to design and test an interactive newsgame (newsgames are games that apply journalistic principles in their creation, for example, gathering stories to immerse the player in narratives) about health insurance. This game included entry-level information through scenarios and was designed through the collation of national news stories, local personal accounts, and health insurance company information. A total of 72 (N=72) participants completed in-person, individual gaming sessions. Participants completed a survey before and after game play. Participants indicated a greater self-reported understanding of how to use health insurance from pre-(mean=3.38, SD=0.98) to postgame play (mean=3.76, SD=0.76); t=-3.56, p=.001. For all health insurance terms, participants self-reported a greater understanding following game play. Finally, participants provided a greater number of correct definitions for terms after playing the game, (mean=3.91, SD=2.15) than they did before game play (mean=2.59, SD=1.68); t=-3.61, p=.001. Significant differences from pre-to postgame play differed by health insurance term."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "A game is a practical solution to a difficult health issue-the game can be played anywhere, including on a mobile device, is interactive and will thus engage an apathetic audience, and is cost-efficient in its execution."

For more information on this research see: Breaking Health Insurance Knowledge Barriers Through Games: Pilot Test of Health Care America. Jmir Serious Games, 2017;5(4):e22.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting S. Champlin, Mayborn School of Journalism, The University of North Texas, Denton, TX, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.2196/games.7818. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Texas, Denton, United States, Health Insurance, North and Central America.

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