Thousands Play New Game That Seeks to Save Lives by Educating People About Liver Disease
El Paso, Texas (PRWEB) January 05, 2017 -- In an effort to reduce the high death rate from liver disease among the local Hispanic population, The El Paso Times, The Hospitals of Providence and gamification software company OfferCraft have partnered to create an interactive game to educate people about how to prevent the illness.
The game, which comes in English and Spanish versions, is a trivia quiz that features short embedded educational videos, links to a podcast, and infographics on liver disease and its prevention. It has already been played more than 3,000 times on mobile phones, computers and tablets.
“While this game deals with liver disease, in the future we aim to release new games to provide important information about many other diseases,” said Aron Ezra, CEO of OfferCraft. “Making education about a tough subject less intimidating and more memorable can help improve health and save lives.”
Las Vegas-based OfferCraft specializes in designing engaging customer experiences for media companies, healthcare providers, hospitality companies, retailers and others. Its patent-pending platform blends behavioral economics and artificial intelligence to create motivating, enjoyable experiences that have been shown to be more effective than traditional approaches.
The game being used in El Paso is based on original reporting from an investigative series published in 2016 by the El Paso Times, which is the leading newspaper in West Texas. The series, funded by the Solutions Journalism Network, called liver disease “a silent epidemic” among Hispanics in El Paso. It found that more people die each year from liver disease in El Paso County than from lung cancer or breast cancer, and that the county's death rate from liver disease was nearly twice as high as the Texas average in 2013.
The four-part series investigated why Hispanics in El Paso have an elevated risk of dying from liver disease; offered guidance on how more exercise, healthier eating and less alcohol consumption can prevent liver disease; and explored ways that other communities in Texas are successfully combating the preventable disease.
The game is being promoted on social media, in the newspaper and at an upcoming event.
“This game has already reached thousands of people who otherwise might never have read our investigative report or watched our videos or listened to our podcast,” said Bob Moore, editor of the El Paso Times. “We wanted to find a new way to draw in folks we don't traditionally reach, and creating a game with appealing prizes was the best avenue there.”
To drive participation in the campaign and to promote healthier living, the game includes a grand prize of an Apple Watch sponsored by The Hospitals of Providence, which will open a new liver clinic in early 2017. The Apple Watch will be given away at The New Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus Community Open House event at 2 p.m. MST on January 7, 2017.
“The hardest thing for a health care provider to accomplish is to motivate changes in behavior to get people to take a more active role in their own health,” said Kurt Gross, Director of Marketing and Communications at The Hospitals of Providence, the largest hospital group in El Paso County. “That's what this campaign is all about, and it has the potential to save lives. Liver disease is preventable, and it's taking a disproportionate toll on people in our community. We hope to change that.”
The English-language version of the game can be found here: https://c.reward-access.com?aToken=AAEKmi
The Spanish-language version of the game can be found here: https://c.reward-access.com?aToken=AAT9Bv
The full El Paso Times series on liver disease can be found here:
http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/health/2016/05/14/liver-disease-killing-el-pasoans-alarming-rate/83925636/
For more information about OfferCraft or to request a demo, please visit OfferCraft.com.
For more information about the El Paso Times, which is part of the USA Today Network, please visit ElPasoTimes.com.
For more information about The Hospitals of Providence, please visit TheHospitalsOfProvidence.com.
About The El Paso Times
The El Paso Times has proudly served far West Texas, southern New Mexico and northern Mexico since 1881. Utilizing a variety of digital and print platforms, it reaches hundreds of thousands of readers each day in the Borderplex region. Times journalists have won numerous national and state awards in recent years, particularly in investigative reporting and commentary. National awards include the Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award from the National Press Foundation, Governing Magazine's Hovey-Harkness Award for excellence in state or local public service journalism, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and the Burl Osborne Award for Editorial Leadership from the American Society of News Editors.
About The Hospitals of Providence
The Hospitals of Providence covers the El Paso Region to include West Texas and Southern New Mexico. The system includes Memorial Campus, Providence Children's, Sierra Campus, East Campus, Transmountain Campus; Imaging Centers; Trawood and Northeast Emergency Rooms; Paso del Norte and El Paso Day Surgery Centers; Teen Health Resource Centers; Wound Care and Hyperbaric Centers; In-patient Rehabilitation Program; Outpatient Therapy Centers; MedPost and MedPost Kids Urgent Care Centers; and 'A New Me' Surgical Weight-Loss Program. The Hospitals of Providence is dedicated to continuing the over-60-year commitment legacy to the El Paso Community. For more information please visit TheHospitalsOfProvidence.com.
About OfferCraft
OfferCraft is a Software-as-a-Service company that helps organizations craft better offers and incentives. Inspired by behavioral economics, OfferCraft's unique software makes traditional incentives far more fun and effective - motivating many more people to use them. The platform weaves together tools ranging from customizable games to artificial intelligence. Clients use it to invigorate marketing campaigns, training, employee engagement efforts, surveys and more, often doubling or tripling their participation rates. OfferCraft serves enterprise customers across multiple industries, including retail, hospitality, healthcare, transportation, entertainment, and energy. For more information or to request a demo, visit http://www.OfferCraft.com.
Dan Grech, OfferCraft, http://www.OfferCraft.com, +1 (786) 664-7324, [email protected]
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