Context:
As we strive to promote comprehensive child health, we have observed that parents and caregivers encounter numerous challenges in ensuring complete immunization and handwashing with soap (HWWS) for children. While low risk perception of missed vaccinations exists due to other pressing priorities or forgetfulness, HWWS practices across the household also demand attention. The need to involve all family members, including parents, grandparents, and siblings, in adopting consistent HWWS practices becomes paramount to prevent the transmission of germs and infections to the child.
Purpose:
The purpose of the Safety Circle Game was twofold-
- To emphasize the criticality of complete and timely immunization and to showcase the potential risks associated with missing even a single dose, which could expose the child to fatal infections and diseases.
- To highlight the significance of handwashing with soap, focusing on key occasions, and stressing the vital role that all household members play in protecting the child from infection-causing germs by regularly washing their hands with soap.
This simple digital solution uses interactive gameplay, for parents to experience the consequences of missed doses and handwashing occasions, raising awareness about the potential health risks to their children. The game’s engaging features and audience interaction foster an understanding of how immunization and handwashing create a protective shield, the “Suraksha Kawach,” shielding children from germ-causing infections and ensuring a healthier future.
Target Groups:
Parents of 0-2-year-old children
Key Messages:
By actively involving parents and other caregivers, the Safety Circle Game demonstrates how immunization and handwashing with soap create a protective shield for children, safeguarding them from infections and ensuring a healthier future.
Duration:
10-15 mins
Required Resources:
Tablet with Safety Circle Game
How to Use:
- Start the Game: Access the user interface with 14 buttons, representing 7 for immunization and 7 for handwashing with soap on key occasions. These buttons are initially disabled.
- Activate Protection: Drag the syringe and/or soap onto the child to activate the protective shields, symbolizing defence against infections. The germs move away as the shields come up.
- Full Protection: With all 14 buttons activated, the shields protect the child from germs.
- Break Protection: Pressing any button will deactivate the corresponding action, allowing the shield to break and the germs to approach the child. The more deactivated buttons, the closer the germs get to the child, thus exposing the threat to infections.
- The facilitator’s script guides and supports the actions, emphasizing the importance of complete immunization and handwashing with soap on all occasions to protect children from infections and ensure their well-being.
