Blended Gaming Training System selected as Government’s commissioned project with support over 1.2 million to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in residential care homes

Led by Dr Angela Leung (PI), the ‘Blended Gaming COVID-19 Training System’ proposed by the cross WHO CC, CGN and CIC team* of the School, was selected one of the COVID-19 commissioned research projects of the Food and Health Bureau, and has secured over HK$1.2 million from the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) for its development.

With the support of the PolyU Industrial Centre, our team put an extra-ordinary effort to develop the prototype of the ‘Blended Gaming COVID-19 Training System’ within weeks. This Hong Kong’s and perhaps the world’s first interactive and blended learning training system on infection control COVID-19 is developed to overcome non-adherence of infection control practice among health care workers in elderly homes.

A research study conducted by the project team in local elderly homes earlier found that the compliance rate of the health care workers to hand hygiene was as low as 15%. The team was alarmed as the results showed that few health care workers performed hand hygiene before touching a resident!

At present, local and international guidelines on infection control against COVID-19 are printed materials with technical words. Health workers may find those guidelines difficult to read, hence, the guidelines themselves have become barriers to good infection control practice.

To resolve this alarming situation and prevent massive COVID-19 outbreaks in local elderly homes in the coming autumn and winter seasons, the team has designed the ‘Blended Gaming COVID-19 Training System’, which integrates interactive computer games and blended learning. Its content is based on the WHO infection prevention and control guidelines in healthcare facilities as well as the infection control guidelines of Centre for Health Protection. Different scenarios of the game are designed considering settings and environments of local elderly homes to engage users and give them ‘realistic’experiences to promote their decision making, such as choosing appropriate personal protection equipment.

A clustered randomised controlled trial will be carried out later to test the efficacy of the system. Blended learning (technology plus face-to-face sessions) will be used to support the research participants. “It is expected that there are behavioural changes (in infection control practice) among the participants, ” said Dr Angela Leung. If proved effective, the system will be used in the territory to enhance infection control practice among health care workers against COVID-19.

*Team members: Prof. Alex Molasiotis, Dr Simon Lam, Dr Justina Liu, Dr Eliza Wong, Dr Daphne Cheung, Dr Mimi Tse, and Dr Doris YP Leung.