Person-Centered Virtual Serious Games: Mental Health Education

This mixed-method research addresses two problems: 1) the need to understand more deeply the lived experiences of individuals with mental illness to inform the design of a virtual serious game (VSG) and; 2) the need for more accessible and interactive mental health VSGs for nursing student learning before attending community placements. We began with an Ontario-wide collection of individual narratives about living with mental illness using qualitative methods and then applied the findings in two ways. First, we incorporated the person-centered feedback into the serious VSGs’ storyline, and secondly, we developed and refined the VSG prototype. Next, we will implement the VSG into the nursing curriculum for evaluation of learning outcomes.