GAMIFICATION TO TRAIN YOUNG DIABETIC TO MANAGE THE INSULIN METABOLISM

It is widely recognized that in diabetes to learn the insulin metabolism is essential for ensuring a good quality of life as well as the adherence to the appropriate therapy. For these reasons, it is important to adopt strategies able to motivate and engage teenagers in the educational process. In this context, new technologies can help to make the learning process more engaging. The main idea is to use the game approach in order to make the learning and training process more attractive and intuitive. The goal of the game, Treasure Hunter, herein presented, is to allow the acquisition of self-management skills in children aged between 8-12 years. The challenge of the game is to train young diabetic to self- manage their clinical conditions and especially to prevent serious hypoglycaemic events and reducing psychological burdens. A first pilot study was conducted to measure the learning effectiveness and the usability of the game. The pilot study confirmed the literature evidences about the learning effectiveness: the game dimension and the interactive approach allow young patients to learn with more enthusiasm how to prevent hypoglycaemic events and to handle their therapy.