Carnegie Mellon University’s students have made strides in global health education with a project that blends gaming and hygiene education. Their innovative effort aims to teach children worldwide the importance of maintaining good health practices.
The initiative began in 2020 when Charles Johnson, an Assistant Teaching Professor at CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center, was invited to assist the World Shoe Fund in designing a new type of footwear. This collaboration set the stage for broader goals aimed at breaking cycles of poverty and disease through education and resources, such as the Wash and Wear program, which promotes hygiene among schoolchildren globally.
World Shoe Fund’s President, Courtney Cash, emphasized the importance of sustaining behavioral changes for long-term impact. To bolster these efforts, the idea of developing an educational game emerged, with CMU’s ETC taking the lead.
In this endeavor, the StepUp Project Team, composed of second-year ETC students Eva Chang, Anna Kim, Lawrence Luo, Regina Xia, Yawen Xiao, and Tyler Yang, was formed. Their mission was to create a game that reinforces hygiene lessons as part of the fund’s African initiatives.
The team conducted in-depth research to tailor their game to African contexts, specifically in Rwanda, through virtual conversations with local experts such as Jean Christian Kayonga and Peace Fidele Uwihangana. Their findings highlighted the need to address students’ understanding of hygiene risks and the motivation to practice good hygiene.
The result was “Hygiene Hero Cup,” a game combining educational content with engaging gameplay. The game integrates lessons about cleanliness and the importance of shoes into its design, using visuals and mechanics to reinforce these messages.
Due to travel restrictions, the team tested their game in Ghana, engaging nearly 200 students in playtesting sessions. They adapted their teaching strategies on the fly, ensuring that all students could interact with the game and participate in activities designed to measure their understanding of hygiene concepts.
Students were given surveys before and after playing the game, with activities that visually demonstrated their growing comprehension of hygiene. Their drawings evolved from simple dirty hands and feet to detailed depictions of germs, showcasing the educational impact of the game.
Returning to Pittsburgh, the team was encouraged by the results and the potential for broader application. World Shoe Fund President Courtney Cash expressed enthusiasm about scaling the game for use by governments and health ministries. The students found the project rewarding, demonstrating how gaming can have a meaningful impact beyond entertainment.
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