What is it about?
Stigma is the fear that seeking information about a topic that is taboo will cause harm to oneself or others. Harm can be in the form of decreased social standing, reputation, and other related areas of one's life. In this paper, we ask experts to evaluate the game `Above Water' and use the game as an example of how we might learn to approach the design of games for sensitive topics like mental health and wellbeing.
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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Why is it important?
When stigma makes it hard to discuss health and wellbeing, there are serious consequences. Battling stigma can help individuals, but we don't want to take any chances! Therefore, it is important to understand how to help, and not harm, when designing games and applications for sensitive topics. As such, this paper uses the game 'Above Water' as an example to understand how to make careful design decisions.
Perspectives
I, Rina R. Wehbe, felt it was important to engage in research that immediately impacts the wellbeing of those around me. One way to help others is through education.
Dr. Rina Renee Wehbe
Dalhousie University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Above Water: Designing Games for Sensitive Topics and Battling Mental Health Stigma (Preprint), August 2020, JMIR Publications Inc.,
DOI: 10.2196/preprints.21376.
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