# Hexacago Health Academy 2.0: a board game and augmented reality game intervention to promote STEM/health knowledge and career interest

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2021 · $265,656

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Hexacago Health Academy 2.0 (HHA 2.0) builds upon the success of a prior Science Education Partnership
Award in which the Hexacago board, a game board depicting the city of Chicago with an overlay of hexagons,
was used to teach game design, enabling youth to design and play STEM/health games. For HHA 2.0, the
Hexacago board and board game suite will inform the design of Hexacago Health Academy 2.0 Game On (HHA
2.0 GO), a theory-based, game-based STEM/health pathway program for high-performing, rising 11th grade
students from groups currently underrepresented in STEM/health fields who attend Chicago Public Schools. The
multidisciplinary University of Chicago team shares a commitment to using game-based learning experiences to
empower youth with the skills, capacity, and support to achieve optimal health and wellbeing. The team will
design HHA 2.0 GO to incorporate game-based learning. They will also design The UChicago STEM/Health
Pathway Program (UC-SPP), a traditional pathway program, to serve as a comparison arm. HHA 2.0 GO will
rely on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and the extant literature on the SCCT for racial and ethnic
minorities and STEM careers. Both programs will include a two-week summer intensive and ten academic year
booster sessions. Educational content will cover STEM/health topics, STEM/health careers, and the College
Admissions process. Young people will be randomized to either HHA 2.0 GO (n=72) or UC-SPP (n=72). Youth
not randomized to either program will be asked to serve as a non-intervention control group (n=56). Surveys and
focus groups will be used to compare outcomes across the two intervention groups and the non-intervention
control group during, immediately post, and at one-year post intervention. The study hypothesis is that students
randomized to HHA 2.0 GO will score higher on a composite measure of knowledge, self-efficacy, interest, goals
and behaviors regarding STEM/health topics, STEM/health careers, and the college admissions process short
term and longitudinally compared to those randomized to UC-SPP and compared to those in the non-intervention
control group.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10149359
- **Project number:** 5R25GM137407-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Patrick Jagoda
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $265,656
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10149359

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10149359, Hexacago Health Academy 2.0: a board game and augmented reality game intervention to promote STEM/health knowledge and career interest (5R25GM137407-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10149359. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*