Towards a serious game approach for mold prevention education in New Zealand homes : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Construction in the School of Built Environment, College of Science, Auckland Campus, Massey University, New Zealand

Abstract

Indoor air pollution remains a major determinant of human health and well-being, with residential mold widely recognized as one of New Zealand’s most persistent public health concerns. Long-term exposure to damp and moldy homes is associated with asthma, allergies, respiratory infections, and other chronic conditions, disproportionately affecting children and low-income households. Despite ongoing public awareness efforts, understanding of effective mold prevention remains limited, and conventional educational approaches have demonstrated only modest and short-lived behavioral impact. This doctoral research addresses this gap by developing and evaluating a serious game aimed at improving mold prevention education among the general public in New Zealand. The research comprised four connected studies: i) a systematic review of gamification in air-quality education, ii) the design and prototyping of a serious game, iii) an experimental comparison between a serious game and video-based learning, iv) and a multi-group Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis to examine underlying learning mechanisms. Results from the controlled experiment showed that although both the game and video significantly improved immediate knowledge, the serious game improved higher intrinsic motivation, better perceived usability, and lower task load. Importantly, only participants in the game condition maintained their knowledge after four weeks, indicating stronger knowledge retention. Behavioral intention improved in both groups without a significant difference, suggesting that knowledge gains alone may not be sufficient to drive sustained behavioral change without continued reinforcement. The SEM analysis revealed distinct media-specific pathways. In the game condition, prior knowledge strongly predicted post-test knowledge, indicating that interactive features may activate learners’ existing cognitive structures. In contrast, the video condition relied more heavily on usability-driven motivation pathways that subsequently influenced post self-efficacy. These findings suggest that interactive and non-interactive media support learning through different cognitive and motivational processes. This thesis contributes to indoor environmental health by developing and empirically validating a theory-informed serious game for residential mold prevention in New Zealand. It integrates Gamification Design Theory and Self-Determination Theory within a multi-group SEM framework to explain how learner and system factors influence learning outcomes. Empirical findings demonstrate that serious games enhance intrinsic motivation, perceived usability, and knowledge retention compared with video-based learning. Practically, it delivers a validated and scalable educational tool to support serious games in mold prevention and environmental health education.