Presenters: Lauren Fox, Island Health Clinical Lead Jacob Gallant, Youth Design Team Member

BoosterBuddy is a free app designed to help teens and young adults improve their mental health.

Booster Buddy was created by Island Health in collaboration with teens and young adults with lived experience. This app was made possible thanks to the generous support of Coast Capital Savings through the Victoria Hospitals Foundation.

Visioning Focus Group Twenty-five stakeholders attended a six-hour focus group to identify and prioritize needs and solution ideas. 12 youth with lived experience 2 family members 2 tech industry 9 service providers

They wanted tools for mental wellness Use coping skills Have a crisis plan Check-in with how you are feeling each day Keep track of appointments and medications Get started on tasks Follow self-care routines Increase real-life socialization

They wanted an app to evoke positive emotions. Encouragement Positive feedback A sense of progress and forward movement A feeling of connection and companionship Feeling capable A sense of ownership, “being in the driver’s seat”.

“Gamification” Has the Potential to Improve Motivation and Engagement A gameful approach – if used well – can spark positive emotions and magnify internal motivation.

Transforming Narratives Game-like approaches allow people to adopt personas that embody their most heroic traits and embed their difficult experiences in meaningful narratives.

Our youth design team shaped the over-all narrative Caring for and nurturing something. Wellness self-management is … A journey toward a destination.

Users manage their personal wellness journey and earn achievements as a sidekick guides them through a series of daily quests designed to establish and sustain positive habits.

Quests Once you check-in you can wake up your sleeping buddy by completing three quests. Quests are designed to engage you in real-life wellness activities that match your abilities that day.

Quests Care for your buddy by caring for yourself

Game Design Elements Sense of progress – Completing quests/challenges – Earning coins and moving through levels – Accumulating virtual goods Fostering mastery – Tasks graded to match abilities “the just right challenge” – Tools to support independence in self-management (mood tracking, med reminders, coping skills) Providing encouragement and celebration – Inspirational quotes, confetti, bling, fanfare

Reward and Encouragement Each time you complete a quest you earn virtual “coins”. The more coins you earn the more levels you complete.

Reward and Encouragement Each time you wake up your buddy you get fanfare, encouraging words and an inspirational quote.

Reward and Encouragement You can use your “coins” to purchase accessories for your buddy. You can’t get to every accessory right away … you have to keep playing to unlock them.

Feedback “I find it comforting and motivating while depressed.” “I love all the features and I find myself accomplishing more goals every day.” “I particularly appreciate that it builds your strength from where you are when depressed (and not where you should be if you were not).” “I have used this app to bring myself from the brink of disaster to a place where I can cope and deal with my problems.”

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