Am J Perinatol 2019; 36(03): 322-328
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1667371
Original Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

The Use of a Game-Based Decision Aid to Educate Pregnant Women about Prenatal Screening: A Randomized Controlled Study

Erin Rothwell
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
2   College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
,
Erin Johnson
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
2   College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
,
Bob Wong
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
,
Nancy C. Rose
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
3   Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Murray, Utah
,
Gwen Latendresse
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
2   College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
,
Roger Altizer
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
,
Jose Zagal
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
,
Marcela Smid
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
,
Abby Watson
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
,
Jeffrey R. Botkin
1   Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
› Author Affiliations
Funding This research was supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (HD083832) and in part by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1TR001067. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Further Information

Publication History

13 August 2017

26 June 2018

Publication Date:
14 August 2018 (online)

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Abstract

Purpose This project developed and evaluated the efficacy of a game decision aid among pregnant women about prenatal screening in a randomized controlled study.

Study Design Participants were recruited from an obstetric clinic of an academic urban medical center and randomized (n = 73) to one of two study groups: the control group (n = 39) that used a brochure or the intervention group (n = 34) that also used a game decision aid.

Result Participants who played the game had higher knowledge scores (m = 21.41, standard deviation [SD] = 1.74) than participants in the control group (m = 19.59; SD = 3.31), p = 0.004. The median time of game playing was 6:43 minutes (range: 2:17–16:44). The groups were similar in frequency of completing screening after the study, control = 6 (15%) versus intervention = 11 (32%), p = 0.087. However, the more interaction with the game resulted in more positive attitudes toward screening.

Conclusion The addition of a game decision aid was effective in educating pregnant women about prenatal screening. As other genetic testing decisions continue to increase within clinical care, game-based decision tools may be a constructive method of informed decision-making.

Supplementary Material