• Noriaki Aoki, Sachiko Ohta, Hiroyuki Masuda, Tokihiro Naito, Takahiro Sawai, Kayo Nishida, Taisuke Okada, Mariko Oishi, Yuko Iwasawa, Keiko Toyomasu, Kenji Hira, and Tsuguya Fukui.
• School of Health Information Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center--Houston, USA. Noriaki.Aoki@uth.tmc.edu
• Stud Health Technol Inform. 2004 Jan 1;107(Pt 2):855-9.

PurposeAppropriate initial education for type-1 diabetes mellitus patients is important to prevent late complications. However, type-1 diabetic children have not appreciated traditional learning methods since they rarely contain the elements of fun and interactivity. In this study, we developed, implemented and evaluated a preliminary version of edutainment tools for initial education for type-1 diabetic children.MethodsThree games running on either personal computer (PC) and GameBoy Advance were developed. All games were designed to educate patients about relationships among food (carbohydrate), plasma glucose level, exercise, and insulin dose. A total of 58 testers evaluated degree of entertainment, usability and clinical usefulness of the games.ResultsGenerally, testers felt all games were intuitive and fun and the usability of games was highly scored. More than 90% of testers showed an interest in the edutainment approach, and approximately 60% agreed that these games could provide attractive educational environment compared to traditional education, especially for children.ConclusionsOur edutainment systems were accepted as attractive learning tools for type-1 diabetic children who need initial education.

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