Abstract:

Introduction:
The age of initiation of drug use is getting younger and younger. In order to prevent drug use, programs aimed at school children and their families have been developed with very beneficial results. A gamification system can facilitate learning and the duration of the knowledge acquired.

Objective:
To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program based on gamification for the prevention of drug use aimed at 11- and 12-year-old children.

Methodology:
This is a study protocol with a quasi-experimental before-after design through an educational intervention using gamification that will integrate games, stories and theater. The results of the intervention will be measured by means of a drug knowledge questionnaire that will be given to schoolchildren at three different times: baseline questionnaire (pre-intervention), 15 days post-intervention and 30 days post-intervention.

Timeline:
Firstly, the program will be presented to the Provincial Education Delegation, to the management teams, teachers and parents of the different schools, and participation authorizations will be collected. Once the corresponding permissions have been obtained, the collection of baseline data from the students (pre-intervention) will be carried out. The main session will be a session based on a gamification system that will take place during a whole educational day and will be outside the school center. After this session, the same questionnaire will be administered 15 days and one month after the intervention.

Ethical aspects:
All data will be anonymized. A favorable report will be requested from the Provincial Education Delegation and the Research Committee of the Albacete University Hospital Complex. Families and teachers will be asked to complete the authorization for participation inside and outside the educational center.

Keywords:

Health Education, School Health Services, Gamification, Substance Abuse, Primary Prevention.