The CDC’s “Solve the Outbreak” game: a preliminary debriefing study with students enrolled in an undergraduate epidemiology course

This study explored undergraduate college students' opinions of the CDC’s online “Solve the Outbreak” (StO) game, a recommended aid in higher education for teaching concepts epidemiological outbreak investigations.

The study was conducted as a game debriefing, in which 16 students enrolled in an undergraduate-level epidemiology course were interviewed to receive feedback about their experiences of StO after completing the game.

A total of four common themes emerged from the interveiews as framed by the Persuasive Game Design model: (1) Enjoying the Game World, (2) Cheating the Game’s Elements, (3) Suggesting Improvements to the Game’s Elements, and (4) Inverted Transfer Effect.

Students reported that they enjoyed playing StO, and that it was effective for applying their knowledge of epidemiology course content on the process of investigating outbreaks. However, students found ways to cheat the game’s answers, and they recommended ways that the game’s elements could be improved. Instructors should consider using StO as a tool for teaching their students about investigating infectious outbreaks. Designers of the game should consider adapting the game based on students’ constructive feedback.