Psychology Department, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli 1, Milano, 20123, Italy.
CERISVICO Research Centre on Community Development and Organizational Quality of Life, via Trieste 17, Brescia, 25121, Italy.
J Prev (2022). 2023 Dec;44(6):705-727. doi: 10.1007/s10935-023-00741-3. Epub 2023 Aug 6.
Food Game is a gamified school-based intervention that aims to promote healthier dietary choices (i.e., adherence to the Mediterranean diet) and more sustainable behaviors among high school students in an urban area in Northern Italy. The program consists of an offline and online competition in which groups of students participate in peer-led activities to design and communicate products promoting health and sustainability. This study aimed to examine how the program works in practice, understand its mechanisms of change and assess any variation in student outcomes. A mixed methods process evaluation was conducted. Students completed a three-wave longitudinal survey and participated in focus groups. Program staff and teachers were also interviewed. Qualitative and quantitative data analyses indicate that Food Game?s gamification strategy was successful in engaging students, who felt stimulated by the game, its embedded competition and the self-organized group work. Although no significant change in adherence to the Mediterranean diet was found, pro-environmental behaviors, attitudes and perceived peer approval on healthy eating increased over time. Findings provide preliminary support for Food Game as an acceptable and engaging intervention though there is yet not sufficient evidence that it is also promotes healthier and more sustainable behaviors. The results contribute to the limited evidence base for offline gamified school-based interventions and offer insight into the applicability of the gamification approach as a key motivational strategy in other prevention settings and contexts. Suggestions on how to strengthen the program include dosage increase and addition of activities to promote change on relevant school and community factors.
食物游戏是一种基于学校的游戏化干预措施，旨在促进意大利北部一个城市地区的高中生更健康的饮食选择（即坚持地中海饮食）和更可持续的行为。该计划由线下和线上竞赛组成，学生小组参与以同伴为导向的活动，设计和传播促进健康和可持续性的产品。本研究旨在探讨该计划在实践中的运作方式，了解其变化机制，并评估学生成果的任何变化。进行了混合方法的过程评估。学生完成了三波纵向调查，并参加了焦点小组。还对项目工作人员和教师进行了访谈。定性和定量数据分析表明，食物游戏的游戏化策略成功地吸引了学生，学生感到游戏、其内置的竞争和自我组织的小组工作很有激励性。虽然没有发现对地中海饮食的依从性有显著变化，但随着时间的推移，对环境友好的行为、态度和对健康饮食的感知同伴认可有所增加。研究结果初步支持食物游戏作为一种可接受和引人入胜的干预措施，尽管还没有足够的证据表明它也能促进更健康和更可持续的行为。研究结果为基于学校的线下游戏化干预措施的有限证据基础做出了贡献，并为游戏化方法作为其他预防环境和背景下的关键激励策略的适用性提供了深入了解。关于如何加强该计划的建议包括增加剂量和增加促进相关学校和社区因素变化的活动。
