Final paper - but not really

My first year, first semester of Masters in Health Informatics was a different ride. It made me bolder, in the sense that posting my blog on an audience of more than a thousand people.  I exposed myself to daggers or not.

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself. – Henry Miller

Truthfully, when I started MSHI, I began to doubt what I am doing for the past years and suddenly my experience was in some way irrelevant but so important at the same time.

I think that as a gateway to eHealth the HI201 not only it opened the doors of eHealth but also also opening my interest on different aspects of eHealth on different practices. Personally, I like this form of learning because I can give out my opinion on eHealth ideas and reading my fellow student’s blogs gives me so much perspective. It gives me endless ideas how important Masters in Health Informatics is. Subjecting my blog post on a group of people who have the same interest can give me more information on my shared idea, some comments on my blog posts are of references that I could learn more.

An example of which is on my first blog post, I wasn’t able to answer the driving question. It was the first time in my career on eHealth and the time when I finally doing continuing eduction on my chosen field of health that I began to doubt if it is what I wanted to do. But the comment of Dr. Alvin Marcelo, that my experiences were part of the history of the Philippine eHealth Strategic Framework.

On the second assignment, where we had to make a concept map about the relevance of informatics to global health and eHealth. First I had a problem using the CMAP on a Mac, I was done with my map and saved it, but it didn’t save what I made. I ended up using Pages.  I will never forget the first assignment, though I was not able to get interaction on my PMIS, I was able to get comments through my classmates during Google Hangout. I learned that what I did was not concept map but more of some sort of flowchart. It looked that way because of the limited capabilities of Pages.  I learned so much from the hangout, my classmates’ maps were SO MUCH complex than mine and even with my experience – my concept map was so LIMITED. On RJ Balandra’s concept map it was on a tech’ Enquiry – I think that Dr. Pauline and Grace’s concept map are mind blowing! It was so complex and made me realize how I am limiting myself to the confides of my comfort zone (my work, or any work related ideas).  On Jonathan’s concept map, I thought and commented on his concept map, that his map “almost sums up a great and [too] broad idea of relevance of informatics in global health and eHealth. I really like your input on "arising need" - it is very relevant on innovating solutions because there is a DEMAND on DATA”.

On the third assignment which we had to develop an infographic that answers the driving question “What are the factors affecting the advancement of the field of health informatics in the Philippines?”

It is my first time making an infographic, I searched the internet how and different ways for me to make an infographic easier.  This time, I was able to make more interactions online and so with the class. The most memorable comment on my inforgraphic is that is very community oriented.  YES, I am guilty of that.

I got comments like “This a simple but nice post. Small amount of words but they deliver enormous information. You have a lot to share since you've experienced deploying and gathering these data first hand. Also, I really like the way your icons are selected and how they are arranged around the map.”

“This really shows where your coming from.  I like how you entered HIS in the picture, though there are two registries included. The Infogineering model here took off the informatics part but couldn't see Global Health and eHealth. Adding them in the map would compliment our understanding”

“My teachers always told me "Charge it to experience!" well done!”

“I agree with what the rest commented. Experience really helps in understanding the factors affecting the advancement of any form of technology. People from different cultural and social backgrounds may have different views on technology”

“The infographic was very concise and provides a unique viewpoint about the factors affecting HI in PH. We can never use and adopt better technologies and innovations if basic necessities such as electricity are not taken care of.”

And my response is “My experience as an implementor is my greatest teacher! Wow, you were able to see through my bias for the rural communities. And yes, these are facts, and i experienced these difficulties first hand”

On my classmates infographics, I like Grace’s piece. I like how she used a timeline on the development of ICT in effect to informatics. On RJ’s post, due to his different background from most of us in the class, his posts are most often is great new learning for me. I commented on his post “! I like how you went back to your "roots" - IT Human Resource - And as a part of the NTHC family - I honour you for staying behind to help our country!”

While JayC’s post is an interesting peace because of how he related “appeal” as a factor in the advancement of Health Informatics in the Philippines, I thought that “what got me interested on your infographic is "appeal" - it's good that you mentioned it, and however it would be very challenging for the implementors to gather this, because its very subjective and relative to different stakeholders”.

While Jonathan’s post I commented “I like how you were able to present these existing situation of implementing ICT solutions, these data you presented not only matters for ICT4H but also for other ICT solutions like for example the PCOS for elections.”

On our 4^th assignment, the driving question was “What are the challenges of sustainability for health information systems in developing countries?” It was unfortunate that I was not able to present it during class. But for those who were able to present in class, Jonathan’s Mind Map. It was comprehensive – from the role of the stakeholders, the country’s status, the role of the implementers, as well as the design of the ICT solution.

From the 5^th assignment, things became complicated for me. First I had no idea about “free market”. Well I did what I can, more than my readings, my classmates’ posts and reports in class was more informational.  In class, it was majority that the government could not or cannot adequately provide appropriate deployment of the National Information Infrastructure.

6^th - If a hospital information system in one facility is a complex process by itself, how much more complex will a national health information system be? How can government manage this complexity?

Answering a rhetorical question is difficult. In class it was agreed that hospital information system is complex. However answering the how can government manage this complexity. RJ commented on my post that “I agree that IT is not being maximized as a tool for improving our health care sector. For it to be truly maximized though, our manual processes and workflows should be first streamlined and all its complexities sorted out. Automating an inefficient manual system will result in an inefficient electronic system.”

If the 6^th assignment was difficult, the 7^th was much more difficult. With a goal of understanding all the Enterprise Architecture frameworks, with limited time would equal to late submission.

Presenting my the IOS Health App in class was a disaster, I was not able to evaluate it as an MSHI student but an end user. But I was able to correct that mistake on my blog.

From one post to another, and no chance of presenting assignments in class, getting interaction from my fellow classmates and from the PMIS became scarce.   I for one is guilty of not being able to interact.  UNTIL my post on mHealth.

I got comments like “Nice”

 “The nice part would be the alert system for agencies that are needed to be informed in cases of maternal or neonatal death. As for the other tabs, there may be too much information that the mobile app will need to store for it to run in places where there is no reliable internet.”

“Hi Abby!

For a blog post regarding an idea for mHealth, this one is very ambitious and I admire you for that. It made my blog spot look very simple. Hehehe. :)

Moving on, the features you cited in this blog I think is very essential these days. What struck me most is the Policies and Laws module. Many people would just "do what they are told to", which is saddening for me. At least, with the Policies and Laws module, they would be more guided with what they are doing.

My concern with your idea is the Supply Chain Management. I would like to know more about this. Knowing the rampant "discrepancies" with inventories in government agencies, how would you system ensure accuracy of its inventory? :)

Anyway, as I have said, good job and well done. :)”

Another form of submitting assignment for this course is an interaction in Basecamp, and on Twitter.  However the issue on this the student must track well the interactions to prevent asking the same questions.

The four competencies were presented well, on enquiry – overall, the whole course was well thought of - the drive questions and assignments.  The recommended readings and videos are informative not only to fulfill the assignment but for the practice of eHealth. It did not only limit me on the recommendations but also, the assignments prompted me to read more and search more on the topic.

Posting our assignments to a group of people with similar interests should prompt participation and interaction from one another. Though online interaction is limited maybe because of some are too polite or too shy to comment on, and I am guilty of that.

Producting infographics, mind maps, concept maps, presentations and formulating relevant questions made this course more interesting. Using these ways of media, complex ideas were present in class with more or less different ideas too.

More than anything, this form of learning improved digital literacy, especially blogging which entails respecting digital property rights, making it open to target audience by using hashtags. 

Towards the end of this course, I am still challenged to become bolder on sharing ideas, not being satisfied on what I am learning from work and school but doing my own little projects to improve myself to prepare myself to become a health informatics professional.

Gaming and Health

This is one of the hardest blogpost I made, because I rarely play mobile games, or any computer game. However, there very few games that I enjoy (on the rare events that I play games) - I enjoy Tetris, Harvest Moon, Sims - totally boring games. I oftentimes download fad games, but I end up not playing it at all.

According to Rogers, "Cognitively, different games involve different kinds of skills. For instance, games based on a limited set of rules (e.g. board games or card games) and, consequently, a constrained number of possibilities in terms of played moves, engage perception, memory and thinking processes. Differently, the fact of having to rely on luck, as in lottery games, seems to involve mainly decision-making processes.”

Apparently playing games has a positive effect on perception, memory and thinking process. On the advent of smart phones, people nowadays need not to have a game console to play, not even a computer. On their phones, people can play different games - role playing games, card games, any game at all.

For this assignment, I evaluated NEWBORN BABY CARE; an game application developed by George CL.

The application description is “ Grown from a woman to mother with full excitement, tension, pay out, fatigue, joy, and fun.  In period, go through various checks, birth, bathing, dressing, feeding, and other tedious work, but the birth of new life is very exciting. Whether you are about to become a mother or have been a mother or a child will have to learn, review, experience the mother’s hardwork and joy of it. This is a girl’s game and casual game and fashion and kids game.




From the description alone - it is kind of confusing - considering how confusing the description is.

I downloaded it on the under the education section of games on the App Store.




On evaluation, NEWBORN BABY CARE is a game for prevention and harm reduction and a game for training.

It can provide training and education to parturient mothers, what to expect and what she needs to prepare in different stages of pregnancy like regular prenatal check up, delivery and taking care of the newborn. The role of the end user to be in the shoes of the mother,   and on some stages to be the health care worker, which is can be confusing if it is considered for educational purposes. Though the expectations of the parturient mother is fulfilled, except for the roles who does which.

As a game, I used 

Learning Game Design Series, Part 1: Play and Evaluate Games

by Sharon Boller as a reference.

On the first part, Why fun matters? Kevin Werback, in his Coursera MOOC on gamification, identifies eight types of fun in games. These eight types of fun all happen to integrate nicely with learning, or are things people need to learn to do.

Winning (You think this doesn’t link to the workplace? We all like to achieve a win state – over a challenge, over a competitor, over ourselves – beating a previous personal best, for example.)

YES Achieving goals (Humans are goal-driven creatures. Goals are highly motivating to most of us and achieving them is very satisfying. Goals in games that link to the real-life learning we want a target group to do can be powerful and effective. Goals are everywhere in business: reducing percentage of scrap, reducing number of safety incidents, increasing sales by X, adding X customers.  There’s behavior change required to achieve most goals; that frequently requires learning how to do something differently or better than you currently do it.)

Triumphing – this can be triumphing over a competitor, or the game itself, or over individual challenges within the game. Many of us enjoy feeling victorious, particularly if we gained victory by mastering a difficult problem or challenge. We have feelings of triumph in the workplace as well: vanquishing a difficult project, prevailing against difficult business odds or challenges, etc.

Collaborating – a highly valuable business skill, this is a fun element of many games, too. People get social and emotional satisfaction out of collaborating with others. Often people enjoy collaboration much more than they enjoy competing. And organizations WANT people to collaborate in the workplace to achieve business results.

Exploring and building – Games like Sims, Minecraft, and Civilization are about doing these things – and many people find exploration and building powerfully motivating and “fun” to do – so fun, in fact, that they can spend literally hours of time doing these things within a game. These are key skills inside the workplace. Exploration is an under-rated business skill that closely links to something more people understand within business: research.

Collecting – lots of games feature a collection “dynamic” where players’ goal is to collect certain things. Poker is essentially a collection game – collect the best cards and you win.  The Pokemon card craze of a few years ago is about collection. The board game Risk combines collection – acquiring territories – with strategizing. HOW will you gain those territories? Collection appeals to many people’s sense of fun and can be incorporated easily into learning games. In the business world, we often have to collect information before we can move forward with decisions.

YES Problem-solving or strategizing – these are higher-order thinking skills that lots of people enjoy doing. Consequently games that feature these elements have lots of fans. Chess is a classic example of a strategy game. World of Warcraft is a modern-day example. Games in the adventure genre are all about problem-solving – figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B. Problem-solving and strategizing are part of growing and managing any business – and most jobs within a business.

YES Role playing or imagining – many games allow us to do one or both of these things and people love doing them. Second Life, a once-popular virtual environment, leveraged people’s desire to role play by allowing people to create avatars to represent themselves. GameOn Learning has two learning games that both have the learner imagine themselves in a different place and time – while learning time management and negotiation skills. Fantasy can provide a powerful means of letting people feel free to try new behaviors and acquire new skills while feeling safe and minimizing fear of failure.




 


 Achieving goals – in each stage the end user need to achieve goals by playing on mini games to be able to collect different items (eg partograph) to complete each stage.

Problem-solving or strategizing  - this is the aspect of the game that is NOT

On evaluating what you play, there are a lot of guide questions on the article. I’ll answer objectively the questions.

What’s the game goal? Is it clear? Is it compelling to me? Why or why not?

                  Some, because the minigames is TOTALLY NOT related to motherhood or pregnancy.

What’s the game’s core dynamic? Is it exploration, collection, “race to the finish,” solve—or a blend of two different dynamics such as collection AND race to the finish?

It is more of exploring pregnancy and motherhood.

Are the rules clear? How do I learn them?

Somewhat, because the game itself guides you to each step.

What game mechanics (aka rules) make the game most fun? Which one(s) would I change? What would happen if I did? (Suggestion: Try changing one of the mechanics and re-playing the game to see how it alters the play experience and the sense of “fun.”)

It would be more fun and educational if the mini games are related to motherhood and pregnancy.

Do the aesthetics of the game draw me in? What emotional reaction do the aesthetics elicit in me?

Yes, neat and clean images of the game draw me in. The colors is encouraging one to download and play the game.

Is the game “balanced” in the sense that it accommodates different player levels? How?

Not really, all stages are of equal difficulty, finishing each stage would depend on how good you are on strategy on the minigames which are totally unrelated to pregnancy or motherhood.

Do I feel like the game is a good match for its target audience? (We play games intended for school-aged kids at times. I have to evaluate the game’s play in the context of who it is intended for, which isn’t me.)

Yes

Is there a story associated with this game? How does it enhance the game play experience? How did the designers weave the story throughout the game? If they didn’t, why not? Would it add/detract from the game if they did?

Yes, there is a story, through stages a woman will go through from pre pregnancy to giving birth.

What’s the balance between strategy and chance? Do I feel like I have control over the outcome by the choices I make in the game or do I feel the outcome is almost all chance? (e.g. the card game War is all chance. Chess is strategy.) How does the “chance” factor affect how I feel about the game?

There is no CHANCE aspect, all strategy on the minigames.

Is the game cooperative, competitive, or a blend of both? How does this make me feel as I play the game? Does it increase or decrease my motivation to play?

The game is more of game of strategy, what motivates one to play more is getting through all the stages.

If the game is competitive and I lose, how does this make me feel? Does it motivate me to play again or do I want to avoid playing again so I can avoid losing?

Not applicable

If it’s a digital game, how easy is it to navigate? How clear is the navigation? Can I quickly learn by exploring?

VERY EASY TO NAVIGATE.

Finally, as a learning game designer, what elements from this game could I use in a game I design?

This is a very important question especially on gamification for health, I would like to include the element of reality. Specially on achieving each stage and the goals, if I were to enhance or recommend some for the game, it would be including or changing the minigames related to the motherhood or pregnancy.

Reference:

1.     McCallum S. Gamification and serious games for personalized health. Studies in health technology and informatics 2012;177:85-96. http://www.miro.ing.unitn.it/download/Didactics/Misure2/2012%20pHealth%20-%20Gamification.pdf

2.     Gamberini, Luciano, et al. "A game a day keeps the doctor away: A short review of computer games in mental healthcare." Journal of CyberTherapy and Rehabilitation 1.2 (2008): 127-145.http://htlab.psy.unipd.it/uploads/Pdf/Publications/Papers/Cyber_rehab08.pdf

3.     Learning Game Design Series, Part 1: Play and Evaluate Games by Sharon Boller http://www.theknowledgeguru.com/play-and-evaluate-games/