The Baby Game: Using gamification to increase utilization of health centers by pregnant women.

Rationale: Cambodia's maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain unacceptably high. Only 54% of mothers deliver in a facility, and increasing utilization of health centers is central to the government's strategy.

Approach: "Gamification" uses techniques from the computer game industry to change people's behaviour in the real world. This project will use the latest trends in gamification to create an entertaining game ("The Baby Game") that will increase utilization of health centers. Pregnant women will collect Baby Game points by attending their local health center at key times before, during and after birth. Points can be used to enter prize draws via SMS, or redeemed for discounts at local stores. A leader board will be disseminated via SMS to stimulate competition.

Objective and Impact: The objective is to test The Baby Game using a randomized controlled trial at 70 health centers in four provinces. If the trial is successful there will be a significant increase in health center visits by pregnant women in intervention areas compared to control areas, and this will translate into reduced maternal and neonatal mortality. If results are positive CHEMS will seek additional funding to scale-up The Baby Game to national level.

Innovation: The Baby Game is innovative because it applies lessons from the computer game industry to maternal and neotanal health. Companies such as Starbucks and Nike have successfully used gamification to motivate large changes in customer behaviour. Applying the same approach to health center utilization has the potential to be revolutionary.