Process Evaluation of Interdisciplinary Experiences During the Development of a Serious Game About Radiotherapy for Children: Qualitative Interview Study

TL;DR

This study explores how interdisciplinary teams collaborated to create a serious game for children undergoing radiotherapy, highlighting lessons learned about teamwork and communication.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into the collaborative experiences of interdisciplinary teams in health research, particularly in the context of serious game development.

Findings

Participants gained new insights through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Building trust and allocating time for teamwork were crucial for successful collaboration.

Confidence in the project's impact helped maintain engagement among team members.

Abstract

It is considered advantageous to adopt an interdisciplinary approach when creating serious games in the sphere of health practice. However, different fields have reported that interdisciplinary work is challenging. Yet, the literature is scarce regarding how participants within health research have experienced collaborative research. In 2019 and 2020, total 3 teams collaborated to produce a serious game for children undergoing radiotherapy.

The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of collaborating within and between teams, during their participation in the development of a serious game about radiotherapy for children.

A qualitative design was used for gathering data through in depth interviews and a reflective thematic analysis was made. The collaboration included 15 people, 14 of them were asked to participate and 13 accepted. The teams included a game design team, a research team, and an expert team. The latter consisted of a play therapist, a pediatric nurse, and radiation oncology nurses.

In total, 1 main theme and 4 subthemes were formulated. The main theme was a learning experience during the participatory process. The subthemes were: (1) new insights were established due to the collaboration, (2) discovering the mechanisms behind the design elements provided understanding of the game’s complexity, (3) collaboration within teams and between teams needs time and takes time, and (4) confidence that the project was going to make a difference created engagement.

In conclusion, knowledge expansion arose on several levels during the time the participants were part of the project. Having time and building trust in team constellations are significant factors in achieving a productive, favorable and beneficial experience for participants. Furthermore, confidence in the usefulness of the end product could be a contributory factor for participants continuing to work and the understanding of the complexity of the evolving process. Based on the findings of the team members’ individual experiences, we recommend other medical research teams to consider the following implications for practice before starting interdisciplinary design research: (1) establish who can bridge the fields and act to establish mutual understanding; (2) make time for frequent meetings to update on progress; and (3) be responsive, because when everybody feels connected to what needs to be done and feel safe it gets easier to work together.

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