Did you know that men’s beards could render face masks useless or that your hands must dry, after using an antiseptic, before putting on gloves? Three Técnico students (MSc in Pharmaceutical Engineering) – Luciane Eichelt, Safa Al- karam and Sara Coutinho – created the game “EPIs contra o COVID-19”, which provides information about how to properly use personal protective equipment (PPE), which is essential in fighting against COVID-19 spreading.
The game is available on Kahoot platform, includes twelve questions and was designed “to help people using PPE in an interactive and didactic way”. “There are no good PPE if we don’t use it properly” says Luciane Eichelt.
The idea of creating this game came at the end of February, following the spread of the COVID-19 virus in China. “Professor Rui Loureiro challenged us to create a project for Quality Management Systems curricular unit”, recalls Luciane Eichelt. “Asian countries are already used to this type of personal protective equipment, but this is not the case in other countries”, she adds. “We didn’t want the game to be too exhaustive, so we should include a fair number of clear and objective questions”, highlights Sara Coutinho. The questions were based on a survey we did on social media. “We are constantly dealing with so much information that we often don’t know if it is really reliable and trustworthy. For this reason, we have been very careful to check our sources, and we mention that in the video”, says Sara Coutinho.
The game has already been used by Portuguese and American teachers in classroom. The Arabic version will be released by the Iraqi regulatory authority. “It is always very positive to know that this type of information is reaching a lot of people and that our goal is fulfilled. We hope that our work raise people’s awareness and reach the largest number of people”, stresses Luciane Eichelt. “By playing this game at school, children and young people can disseminate this information within their families. Our main objective is that everyone is well briefed and protected against the disease”, adds the Técnico student.
Even though the target audience is the general population, “we had a very positive feedback from children”, says Safa Al-karam. The game and the video are available in three languages: Portuguese, English and Arabic. “These are the mother languages of 820 million people”, highlights Sara Coutinho.
The feedback from teachers, health professionals, engineers, etc., is very positive and has proven its usefulness. “The game and video are seen as very educational. Some people told us that the questions we chose are difficult, which really allows us to test knowledge”, stresses Safa Al-karam.
“Never before have we heard so much talk about PPE and its correct use. A large number of studies and government guidelines were published in several countries that reinforce the use of PPE. This is why we thought it was very important to create this game”, highlights Safa Al-karam. “It is interesting to see the positive impact of our game and video in a delicate moment like the one we are experiencing”, says the student.
