Getting Engaged – Can Gamification Increase

Respondent Engagement and Provide Higher Quality Data in

Healthcare Research?

Dr Keith Meadows DHP Research & Consultancy Ltd

April 2017

Surveys are an important means of data collection in healthcare research, but conventional survey designs are often perceived as dull and unengaging, resulting in negative respondent behaviour.

The problem with surveys

Task not done properly

Little interest, value or effort

More effort

Greater enjoyment , competency

Interest, enjoyment

Highly competent

Where we would like our survey respondents to be

Imposed reward

Where most survey respondents fall

Engaging the survey respondent

Adapted from: Opening up the Open Question: how to get more from your open questions 04/20/2016 – Pete Cape, Director, Global Knowledge SSII.

Gamification is proposed to make surveys more pleasant to complete and, consequently, to improve the quality of survey results.

A solution

A process of applying game mechanics and techniques to encourage and motivate survey respondents to participate, engage and provide quality data whilst enjoying the experience.

What is gamification?

“Understand that respondents will do more work where there is a clear meaningful ideally fun purpose” Jon Puleston 2013

Questification

• Respondents more likely to complete the survey

• A more enjoyable experience for respondents

• Respondents provide more complete answers

• Can improve response rates

The benefits of gamification

It can It’s in the hands of the

creator

Does gamification work?

1. Placing questions in a personal context

2. Evoking conjecture

3. Using abstract rules and conditions

4. Setting up questions as challenges

5. Providing a sense of playfulness

Applying gamification to healthcare research

Traditional How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about how you manage your diabetes?

V Gamified How much like you are these people? Traditional Approximately what proportion of your patients do you treat with the following regimens?

V Gamified Which treatment would you be most likely to offer this patient?

1. Placing questions in a personal context

Traditional

List what changes you would make to improve waiting times to see a dietitian

V

Gamified

Imagine you were in charge of the dietetic unit for a week, what changes would you make to improve waiting times?

2.. Evoking conjecture

Please describe your current health

V

In no more THAN 10 WORDS describe your current health.

What could be improved or done differentially about the care you received?

V

Name TWO THINGS you would change about the care you received.

3. Using abstract rules and conditions

Imagine you have 2 minutes to tell your doctor what you like and dislike about your current medication, what would these be?

You are talking to your doctor and you describe your health as XXX. Write down up to ten things you can think of why you describe your health as XXX.

4. Setting up questions as challenges

Imagine a conversation between two people taking part in the same clinical trial as you of the XXX insulin pen injector, what do you think they would be saying about it?

Can you guess what other people think of the XXX pen injector?

How many stars would you give the XXX insulin pen injector, if you were writing a review for a life style magazine?

5. Creating a sense of playfulness

…has great potential to identify new insights into physicians’ reasoning, how to improve the delivery of high quality care, patient preferences, treatment side effects, patient adherence to their medication, thereby improving their experiences and health outcomes.

Gamification in the health care sector

Adapted from: Research gamification for quality pharmaceutical stakeholder insights. Mondry & Finch 2016

We have over 30 years of healthcare sector research experience bringing innovative approaches to survey and questionnaire design, data visualisation and qualitative data collection and analysis.

About DHP Research

DHP Research & Consultancy Ltd Bloxham Mill Business Centre Barford Road Bloxham Banbury Oxfordshire OX15 4FF Telephone: +44 (0)1295 724233 Email: enquiries@dhpresearch.com www.dhpresearch.com

Dr Keith Meadows Director and Founder