Evaluation of a digital Dementia Game to promote public awareness about dementia in Singapore.

backgroundThe study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a "Dementia Game" in increasing awareness and improving attitudes towards dementia among the general public in Singapore. The game requires players to navigate a path and respond to questions related to misconceptions about dementia.

methodsUsing a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design, 138 participants completed questionnaires before and after playing the digital game to assess changes in their attitudes towards dementia. The Attitudes towards Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ) was used to measure overall attitudes as well as the "hope" and "person-centred" subscales. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were conducted to determine if there were statistically significant changes in ADQ scores from pre-test to post-test. Subgroup analyses were also performed to investigate differences based on participants' prior experience with dementia.

resultsParticipants showed statistically significant improvements in their overall attitudes towards dementia, as well as in the "hope" and "person-centred" subscales, after playing the game. However, those who had prior experience working with people with dementia or had received dementia training did not show significant improvements. DISCUSSION: The study demonstrates the potential of a digital game to promote public awareness and improve attitudes towards dementia. The interactive and educational features of the game were well-received by participants, suggesting it can be an effective tool for challenging stereotypes and stigma surrounding dementia. However, the lack of significant improvements among those with prior dementia experience or training may reflect a ceiling effect, as they likely had higher baseline knowledge and less room for improvement. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of the game and compare its effectiveness to other interventions, potentially using a randomised controlled trial design.