HealthScience communications consultancy Oxford PharmaGenesis has partnered up with digital developer Global Initiative to create an educational, not-for-profit mobile app.
The free Android game – called Dr Bug: Microbe Mayhem – is aimed at children aged seven to 12 and takes children on a journey learning about bacteria, viruses and the use of antibiotics.
The app that was launched at the Oxfordshire Science Festival this month will “stimulate conversations within families about healthcare choices in a way that is enjoyable”, said Dr Dane Comerford, director of the science festival.
“We are delighted that the Oxfordshire Science Festival was the launch pad for the app,” he adds.
The prototype was user-tested by children in years two to six at Aston and Cote Church of England Primary School and Gareth Nixon, Global Initiative’s managing director, said: “The most thrilling thing for us is to be able to broaden minds, and what better place to start than with children?”
“Through our work in digital health, we’ve become more aware of, and frustrated by, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics; the more we can educate about appropriate use at a young age, the better chance we have of averting an antibiotic crisis.”