NCT05445414

A Mobile App Serious Game to Increase Awareness of Antibiotic Use in the Community

Completed NA Last updated 18 October 2023

What this trial tests

NA trial testing "SteWARdS Antibiotic Defense" app in Antimicrobial Resistance in 480 participants. Completed in 31 August 2023.

Timeline

4 January 2022

Primary endpoint
29 May 2023

31 August 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	prevention
Enrollment	480
Start date	4 January 2022
Primary completion	29 May 2023
Estimated completion	31 August 2023
Sites	1 location across Singapore

Drugs / interventions tested

• "SteWARdS Antibiotic Defense" app

Conditions studied

• Antimicrobial Resistance — all drugs for Antimicrobial Resistance →

Sponsor

Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Who can join

Adults 18 to 65, any sex, with Antimicrobial Resistance. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

The widespread and unnecessary use of antibiotics has encouraged the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which can cause hard-to-treat and deadly infections. These infections are due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The public's lack of knowledge on the indication for and proper use of antibiotics often leads to unnecessary patient demands and subsequent misuse of antibiotics. Traditional mass public educational efforts through the use of brochures, posters and advertisements are extensive in outreach but questionable in effectiveness in improving the general public's knowledge on appropriate antibiotics use and AMR.

Serious games app provides an additional venue for public education outreach to the population since a substantial amount of time is spent using smartphones. The use of serious games is expected to increase user engagement in learning, which will lead to short- and long-term improvements in knowledge, attitudes and perceptions on the appropriate use of antibiotics.

The study team has co-developed an evidence-based serious game app- "SteWARdS Antibiotic Defense" -with Temasek Polytechnic. Users will be brought on a quest to learn about antibiotic use and AMR through mini-games and the bite-sized information released throughout the game quest. We intend to clinically validate our evidence-based app and improve its application with actual participants' feedback on its usage. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an evidence-based serious game mobile application (SteWARdS Antibiotic Defense) in improving the knowledge on, attitude towards, and perception (KAP) of appropriate antibiotic use and AMR among Singaporeans.

The primary objective is to assess the change in knowledge on antibiotic use and AMR among the app users compared with the control group. The secondary objectives are to:1) Assess the extent of user engagement of the app by evaluating the users' average screen time per day; and 2) Assess the level of user satisfaction in using the app for learning through a user satisfaction survey.

Publications & conference data

2 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. An Evidence-Based Serious Game App for Public Education on Antibiotic Use and Resistance: Randomized Controlled Trial.
   Huang Z, Ow JT, Tang WE, Chow A. · · 2024 · cited 2× · PMID 39235853 · DOI 10.2196/59848
2. An Evidence-Based Serious Game App for Public Education on Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
   Huang Z, Tang WE, Guo H, Natarajan K, et al · · 2023 · cited 1× · PMID 36976619 · DOI 10.2196/45833