"Youth health education is in crisis," says Anca Petré, Founder of MedShake Studio. With schools and social media falling short, she argues it’s time to reach young people not where they scroll, but where they play.
You describe current health education as a “failing kingdom.” What do you think is the biggest obstacle traditional institutions face in reaching the Gen Z generation?
The biggest obstacle is that traditional health education still relies on static, top-down communication models, whereas Gen Z expects interactivity, personalization, and engagement. School remains a primary channel for delivering health information, but the format is often rigid and outdated.
So even when the information is accurate, it simply doesn’t resonate. As a complement, institutions increasingly turn to social media in hopes of reaching Gen Z “where they are.” But on these platforms, young people are constantly bombarded with content and operate in an environment defined by short attention spans and a lot of misinformation. So the real challenge isn’t access to health education, it’s connection and meaningful engagement.
You claim that we should stop reaching youth where they scroll and start reaching them where they play. Why do you think gaming environments are more suitable for health communication than social media or schools?
Gaming environments are not just where young people spend time; they’re where they engage deeply. Social media may deliver reach, but it's built for passive consumption. It’s a place of endless scrolling and very short attention spans. In games, by contrast, young people are not passive recipients; they're active participants. They make choices, take on challenges, collaborate with others, and progress toward goals. That mindset is a perfect fit for health education when it’s done right. The key is to integrate health content into the game's logic, not as an add-on, but as an integral part of the core experience.
80% of teenagers are gamers. But is a game a good environment to communicate serious topics like self-care?
Yes, if the message is delivered in a way that respects the logic of the medium. There’s a common misconception that games are only for entertainment or escapism. But games are actually powerful emotional and cognitive tools, even when it comes to self-care.
When we translate self-care behaviors into gameplay mechanics, like restoring energy, managing resources, building resilience, or defeating internal “bosses”, we’re not trivializing the topic. We’re making it interactive and personal. And games offer something most educational platforms don’t: emotional engagement. When players are immersed in a challenge, they’re more likely to remember the message that the challenge carried. For example, if hydration is a mechanic that powers your in-game performance, players don’t just learn that water is good for them; they experience the consequences of not drinking enough in a system they care about.
You advocate for designing metaphoric game narratives – e.g., fighting pollution to represent quitting smoking. Can you explain the creative process?
As an example, say we want to fight the stigma around young patients with type 1 diabetes and give them a platform where they can show their peers what they go through. First, we translate this objective into a handful of key messages the game must convey: life with diabetes is a constant balancing act; type 1 diabetes is not linked to an unbalanced lifestyle; and support, rather than judgment, makes all the difference. With those messages in hand, the game designers invent a world that turns the invisible disease into something visible, playable, and relatable.
We might set the story in a haunted mansion, where a group of friends must escape a mad scientist who has rigged the place with traps, puzzles, and timed challenges. One of the players, however, lives with type 1 diabetes, and that changes the experience. As the group explores the mansion, this player must manage fluctuating energy levels, deal with sudden “low” events that distort the screen or slow down movement, and carry limited supplies, such as fast-acting snacks or insulin boosters. The rest of the team has to adapt: helping solve puzzles faster when their friend’s energy dips, unlocking safe rooms where the character can recover, or learning how certain traps affect glucose stability.
By embedding the condition into the game’s logic and story, we don’t just inform, we create empathy, and we make health part of the adventure.
Could you elaborate on how game mechanics are being repurposed to deliver accurate and memorable health messages?
Game mechanics turn messages into actions, decisions, and feedback loops that players experience directly. For example, a brochure might list the symptoms of hypoglycemia. In a game, that same concept could be represented by a sudden visual distortion, slower movement, and a quest to find a fast-acting snack before the player “crashes.”
It’s not something they read, it’s something they feel in the moment.
Additionally, a classroom might explain how the immune system fights off viruses using white blood cells. In a game, that becomes a tower defense mechanic: players deploy immune “units” to defend vital organs against waves of invading pathogens. The effects of lifestyle choices are embedded in the gameplay loop itself. That’s the shift: from telling people what’s healthy to letting them live it.
Have you come across any research or early data that supports the effectiveness of health education through gaming?
Yes, there is growing scientific evidence that gaming, particularly when thoughtfully designed around health goals, can be a powerful tool for education, treatment adherence, and even therapy.
One of the earliest and most frequently cited examples is Re-Mission, a video game developed for young cancer patients. In a randomized trial, participants who played the game maintained higher engagement with their treatment plan and showed greater cancer-related knowledge and self-efficacy compared to a control group.
Similar results have been seen across other chronic conditions. These examples confirm that gamification can enhance adherence, engagement, and health education. However, it’s important to note that most of these studies were conducted within the context of purpose-built educational games or regulated digital therapeutics, often developed for clinical use and not designed for mainstream platforms. What remains to be tested is whether the same level of effectiveness can be achieved when these experiences are deployed on large-scale social gaming platforms, such as Fortnite or Roblox.
You’ve started building games around diabetes and immunity. What kind of feedback or user engagement have you seen so far?
We haven’t deployed the games yet. We’re currently in the game design phase for the two projects. Right now, we’re working closely with medical experts, patient communities, and young users to shape the gameplay, narrative, and mechanics in a way that’s both scientifically accurate and genuinely engaging. We’re actively seeking partners who share this vision and are eager to help us bring these projects to life.
What personally drives your interest in merging health communication with gaming, and how do you envision this evolving over the next five years?
My interest in merging health communication with gaming is both professional and deeply personal. I’ve spent the last eight years exploring the frontier of Web3 and AI on my podcast, Into the Metahealth, where we simplify complex health tech concepts. We’ve discussed topics such as metaverses, immersive environments, and social gaming. Gaming has long been a passion of mine, and over time, it has become clear to me that it could also be a valuable health communication channel that we’re vastly underutilizing.
At MedShake Studio, the company I co-founded, we build communities around healthcare, especially by using long-form, high-engagement formats like podcasts. Our goal has always been to move away from superficial messaging and instead create spaces for deeper storytelling, emotion, and understanding. But while podcasts are incredibly powerful, they aren’t the only tools we can use. Younger generations spend more time in social gaming platforms than on traditional media, and so for us, the next step felt obvious: go where attention is already going, but do it meaningfully.
Critics argue that games can maximize screen time, potentially harming health. How do you reconcile using these platforms for education?
It’s a fair and important criticism, as many commercial games are designed to maximize screen time, sometimes at the expense of physical activity, sleep, or real-world social interaction. But that’s exactly why it’s so important to reimagine what we use these platforms for, rather than dismiss them entirely. If these platforms already capture the attention of millions, we have a responsibility to make that time more meaningful, more mindful, and more beneficial.
The goal isn’t to add more screen time, it’s to replace some of the low-value, repetitive interactions with experiences that build knowledge, empathy, and healthier habits. When we design health-focused games, we do so with intention. This means limiting session times, building in natural breaks, or encouraging real-world actions.
