ABSTRACT COMPILATION - EduGC 2025

79 / 87 ABSTRACT: Introduction Vaping has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents, raising public health concerns due to early exposure to nicotine addiction and long- term health risks (1). Traditional health education methods often struggle to effectively engage adolescents, highlighting the need for more interactive and innovative approaches. Since digital games are popular with teens, they offer a great potential to deliver health education (2).This study presents the development of VAPGAMO — a game-based learning intervention program aimed at preventing vaping intention among adolescents through interactive gameplay. Materials and Methods Developed using the Design and Development Research framework, the module followed two phases: need assessment, game design and development. Phase 1 involved literature review and stakeholder consultation to identify key predictors of vaping intention. In Phase 2, the game was co-developed with input from public health experts, educators, health education officers and game designers to ensure content relevance and age-appropriateness. Results and Discussion VAPGAMO features a young teenage avatar navigating a dystopian game world, engaging in combat with vape-like monsters ("Vapesters"), solving mini-games linked to national legislation (Act 852), and unlocking fact-based learning moments. The game applies the Theory of Planned Behavior to shape behavior, offering players repeated exposure to evidence-based content in an engaging format (3). Targeted at Malaysian adolescents aged 10 – 17, VAPGAMO blends behavioral science with entertainment to foster self-efficacy and resistance to peer pressure. Early validation showed high content relevance with a CVA index ranging from 0.88 to 0.96. Conclusion VAPGAMO is a theory-based educational game developed from research on vaping predictors, designed to engage adolescents through interactive gameplay while building knowledge, motivation, and refusal skills to prevent vaping. The next phase will assess the game’s acceptabil ity and effectiveness through interventional study. VAPGAMO represents a novel tool in adolescent health promotion, offering an accessible and scalable approach to combat rising vaping trends.