THE DYSPHAGIA GAME: PROMOTING SAFER SWALLOWING

Client: NHS England and Nutricia

Issue: Dysphagia is a poorly understood medical condition, and our clients wanted to create a tool to help frontline staff understand how to spot and manage it effectively.

Approach: We designed the Dysphagia board game and accompanying online game, to increase awareness and improve education for healthcare staff.

Outcome: Feedback from players has been consistently positive. Studies to evaluate the game have concluded that it helps to improve knowledge and management of dysphagia.

INITIAL EVALUATION OF USING EDUCATIONAL BOARD GAMES WITH STAFF AND SERVICE-USERS IN A RESIDENTIAL CARE HOME.

Client: NHS Highland & Seaforth House

Issue: Board games are increasingly popular within health and social care for delivering staff training. However, little work has been done to evaluate how suitable board games are for engaging with service-users and patients. This initial evaluation suggests that board games may be a useful and enjoyable tool for helping staff and service-users to explore and discuss the important role of food, fluids and effective communication in social care settings.

Approach: NHS Highland loaned 2 board games to Seaforth House. The games address Dysphagia and Communication. Games were tested with staff and residents over a 6-week period.

Outcome: “I now believe that these games are definitely a great way to learn. I could see the depth of engagement in the way that staff and residents concentrated on the game and on answering questions and engaging with scenarios.”