Can video games help children understand concussions and when to sit out of sports play?

Heads Up Rocket Blades is a game available in the iTunes App Store to help children understand what a concussion is and what symptoms they should watch out for, in hopes they tell a parent or adult in the event they hit their head in real-life sports activities.

We conducted thirteen in-person beta testing sessions of the app with children aged 6-8 years old and collaborated with Banyan Communications to document key findings and recommendations for improvement; subsequently developed additional key messages for the game to clarify player instructions. The framework for app development was published in the Journal of Health Promotion Practice. Our Principal Strategist presented on the formative research framework for the development of the game at the 2017 American Public Health Association Annual Conference.

What data sources are useful for heart disease and stroke prevention programs conducting policy or data surveillance and/or evaluation?

Before planning any health promotion or disease prevention program, stakeholders should carefully design a surveillance/monitoring and evaluation plan. Otherwise, how will you know if your program efforts are being implemented as intended or achieving the outcomes you desire?

We collaborated with CDC Fellows and the American Heart Association to contribute to “Surveillance and Evaluation Data Resources for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Programs,” which includes a variety of new topic-specific resources, including geographic information systems (GIS) surveillance tools, performance measures for hypertension, and updated tools essential to planning, implementation, and evaluation in heart disease prevention and control. The guide also uniquely includes an updated (2016) media tools table for tracking and reporting relevant media promotion metrics relevant to communication efforts.

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