Health Education Mobile Application for Children: A Case Study of Flood Victims

Abstract

Flood is a regular occurrence during Malaysia's typhoon season. It causes damage and loss of life to many people. The government spends a lot of money to overcome the situation by upgrading infrastructures such as embankments and disaster parks. This paper presents a case study conducted with a community in a local village. They are one of the communities that were affected by the devastating flash flood in early 2022. The objectives of this study are to identify the problems faced by the community and to propose IT-related solutions to overcome the problem.  This study adopts the Soft System Methodology approach. The interview and observations have been conducted with flood victims to understand their awareness and readiness toward flood disasters and health information. The interview, reveals that the main problem is the lack of knowledge about floodwater and health information on the children. They were not prepared to handle the flash flood that is claimed to be the worst flooding in more than 20 years.  The mobile app via gaming is proposed to increase health education awareness during a flood. It is vital to develop game-based learning solutions that combine the characteristics of inspiring children with software that is fun and unlike traditional learning.