This session covers the CDC Health Game Jam which was held in September 2013. The goals were to increase interest in public health careers and to rapidly and inexpensively develop demos of health education games. We will discuss the results of the effort, the lessons learned, and the next steps.

1. Dan Baden, MD CDC/OSTLTS
Peter Jenkins CDC/OADC
Leigh Willis, PhD, MPH CDC/NCHHSTP
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

2. Objectives
1. Get people with 21st century skills interested
in public health
2. Rapidly and inexpensively make demos of
innovative health-education outreach tools

3. CDC’s Winnable Battles
http://www.cdc.gov/winnablebattles/

4. Why Not Have a Game Jam?

5. We hoped to bring together at least 100
students and professional game designers

6. Have them form teams…

7. And work with CDC and industry
experts…

8. To envision…

9. Design…

10. And code...

11. Working demos of health games
Maddie Beasly, Nathan Barella, Sam Arrants, Taylor Agni, Logan Cooper, Ryan Drescher, Levoski Brown.
Pulse: SPSU Game Jam 2013.

12. All in one 48-hour period

13. We then planned to give the winning
team a paid, 4-week internship at CDC

14. Why Use Games?
 58% of Americans play video games
 Average game player is 30 years old
 45% of all game players are women
 Women over 18 outnumber boys age 17 or
younger (31% vs. 19%)
http://www.theesa.com/facts/gameplayer.asp

15. But Really, Games?
 Re-mission1
 Fold-it2
 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Games for Health Conference
• Health Games Research
 White House’s Office for Science and
Technology Policy’s Federal Games Guild
1. Pediatrics, Vol. 122, No. 2. August 1, 2008, pp. e305–e317.
2. The Huffington Post, September 19, 2011.

16. Number of Attendees
Goal = 100

17. Number of Attendees
Goal = 100
Actual = ~300

18. Number of Attendees
Goal = 100
Actual = ~300
The same weekend that
Grand Theft Auto V
came out

19.  Largest Game Jam ever held in the US
 First federal Game Jam ever
2013 GGJ: http://2013.globalgamejam.org/status
CDC Health Game Jam 2013 Facts

20. Number of Health Game Demos Produced
Goal = 12

21. Number of Health Game Demos Produced
Goal = 12
Actual = 29

22. Percentage of Game Jam Participants
Expressing Interest in Public Health
Interest before Game Jam = 12%

23. Percentage of Game Jam Participants
Expressing Interest in Public Health
Interest before Game Jam = 12%
Interest after Game Jam = 50%

24. • Wellness 6
• Nutrition 6
• Food safety 3
• Heart disease 3
• Antibiotic resistance 2
• Injury prevention (including texting) 2
• Influenza 2
• Healthcare-associated infections 2
• HIV 2
• Teen pregnancy 1
Number of Health Games
Demos Developed

25. Kitchen Outbreak – Demo
Michelle Flamm, Matthew Harris, Jesse Serrano, Valerie Mears, Caleb Fruin.

26. Insights and Challenges
 Partners are easy to find
 Subject matter experts want to help
 Free admission is critical
 Recognition is more important than prize
money
 Furlough

27. Conclusions
 Demonstrated that a Game Jam can build
interest in public health
 Demonstrated that a Game Jam can rapidly
develop inexpensive demos of health games

28. Next Step
Host the 2014 HHS
Health Game Jam

29. For more information, please contact CDC’s Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support
4770 Buford Highway NE, Mailstop E-70, Atlanta, GA 30341
Telephone: 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)/TTY: 1-888-232-6348
E-mail: OSTLTSfeedback@cdc.gov Web: http://www.cdc.gov/stltpublichealth
The findings and conclusions in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support
Questions?
Dan Baden, MD
dbaden1@cdc.gov
404-498-0339