Serious game for learning and adaption of first aid

Abstract

The dangers of cardiac arrest in Singapore are no laughing matter; it usually strikes without any warning and in the most unexpected of situations. Furthermore, when sudden cardiac arrest strikes, it is often fatal. In fact, studies have shown that cardiac deaths claim more than 1500 lives in Singapore annually. (Group, 2018) There exist different strategies to decrease this rate of sudden cardiac death: (Liew, 2010) • Greater awareness and education on living a healthy lifestyle • Ensuring earlier access to Emergency Medical Systems • Greater awareness and training of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Whilst all these strategies are important in their own rights, the most viable and substantial strategy is to increase public awareness of CPR and AED. This can be seen from the fact that Singapore has a low out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest survival rate of 21.3% as compared to other major cities such as Gothenburg (Sweden) and Seattle (USA), both of which has exceptional survival rates of more than 40%. (myheart.org.sg, 2015) This can be attributed to many factors such as the fact that training and knowledge in Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is mostly limited to healthcare providers in Singapore as only 40% of cardiac arrest patients received CPR aid from bystanders. (Cheong, 2014). While there are already many ways to increase awareness in CPR and AED, more can still be done to ensure that non-healthcare professionals are able to handle themselves should such a situation occur. To achieve this, we can educate and engage the public with First Aider, a serious game that aims to inform and familiarise its users with general first aid and, more importantly, the process of using a CPR and AED. Making full use of the latest technology such as Augmented Reality, the public will get an interactive and intriguing platform to refresh and motivate them to learn CPR and AED.