According to the review carried out for the Scottish Government, computer games could be a good way of introducing health education to children and young people.
The review, The Effectiveness of Intervention to Address Health Inequalities in the Early Years, cites a report published by the Expert Working Group on Infant Mental Health, which looked at the effectiveness of giving young people a realistic model baby to care for as part of parenting education.
Although there was no evidence that using the model helped to cut teenage pregnancy rates, it did reduce the wish of teenagers to become parents at an early age.
The report went on to say popular games where the player has to take care of animals or children could be a good way of getting messages across.
"If professional input was included to ensure the correct messages are being given and a commercial games manufacturer undertook the production and distribution of a more sophisticated game, the Expert Working Group suggests this could have a wider and sustained impact," the review said.
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