Dwell - full game (2019)

Dwell™ was developed by an interdisciplinary academic team of game designers and nurses as an engaging tabletop simulation game to teach about poverty’s impact on one’s choices, health, livelihood, communities, and families. Given the importance of educating future healthcare providers about the implications of poverty, the Dwell team’s goal was to create a game with an educational impact that does not require long setup time or a significant amount of human capital to run the event, especially in comparison to similar tools currently used for health education.

Poverty is an issue that allied health and healthcare professionals face when practicing in any setting, including hospitals, clinics, and schools. Poverty is a ubiquitous condition that impacts half the world’s population indirectly and directly. Locally, the city of Miami is one of the poorest cities in the United States with 21.3 percent of residents living below the poverty level (Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources). In 2015, more than 43 million people were living in poverty nationally (World Hunger Education Service). Internationally, the World Bank estimated that 896 million people live on $1.90 day or less (World Hunger Education Service). Research has shown that poverty influences the five dimensions of family, including health, productivity, physical environment, emotional well-being, and family interaction (Park, Turnbull, & Turnbull).

Despite these facts, many individuals working with poverty stricken people require a much greater understanding of the global and often life-long impacts that being poor has particularly on health. By playing Dwell, participants roleplay as an individual or multi-person household and experience how poverty influences their ability to live a healthy life and access healthy resources. An emphasis on facilitated reflection and debrief are critical to the Dwell educational experience.

For more information: please visit https://mattersatplay.com/projects/dwell/

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