DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL GAME FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS STIMULATING THE UNDERSTANDING AND PREVENTION OF PARASITIC DISEASES

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: It is known that adolescents and school children in Brazil are frequently affected by parasitic diseases. Health education contributes to the prevention of these diseases and educational games are excellent playful tools that can contribute satisfactorily to the assimilation and learning of knowledge by children and young people. OBJECTIVE: To stimulate and verify the learning, understanding and prevention of parasitic diseases through the application of an educational game. METHODOLOGY: A board game was developed and applied to a total of 50 students from a Brazilian school in Petrolina-PE. Data collection was performed through a pre-test with questions to verify the student’s previous knowledge about intestinal parasitic infections. The educational game developed was applied and then a post- test was performed again. RESULTS: Post-test results were significantly higher than pre-test results. In the analysis by gender, boys had a slightly higher percentage of correct answers, and by age group, there was a significant increase in the percentage of correct answers among 11-year-olds. CONCLUSION: The game as a didactic tool was very effective as a teaching proposal and, in a relaxed way, significantly stimulated the learning of parasitic diseases prophylaxis.