Public Health Education Comes to Life for Teens Through Mobile Game “Zoodemic”
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) have launched “Zoodemic,” a free mobile app that transforms public health education into a fast-paced, interactive game for middle and high school students.
Designed to meet kids where they are – on their phones – Zoodemic challenges players to survive waves of infectious diseases, from the basics of germs to emerging threats like avian flu and measles. As players level up, they unlock real-world knowledge about hygiene, zoonotic diseases and outbreak prevention.
“We’re not just teaching science – we’re sparking curiosity,” said Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH, dean of the UNMC College of Public Health. “Zoodemic is a fun, engaging way to help youth understand how to stay safe around animals, protect their health, and guard against emerging infectious diseases. It might even inspire the next generation of public health leaders.”
Developed with students from UNO’s Center for Management of IT in the UNO College of Information Science & Technology and Omaha-based tech firm NebDev, the app is built to evolve. Thanks to dynamic backend updates built by NebDev, new levels can be released in response to current outbreaks and public health needs.
According to Deepak Khazanchi, executive director of CMIT, “Zoodemic reflects how digital innovation can support public health education and readiness. CMIT and UNO students designed and developed the app to make complex public health concepts accessible and engaging for young learners. This is one example of a product built in CMIT over two decades of its existence.”
“Mobile games are part of kids’ daily lives,” said Alexandra Todd, health policy analyst at UNMC. “So we embedded accurate, accessible health education into a format they already love.”
The Nebraska Division of Public Health and Nebraska State Health Department also are on board, with grant support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
“Zoodemic is a unique and educational way for our community to learn about zoonotic diseases and vaccinations,” said Robin Williams, Nebraska Division of Public Health.
Zoodemic is now available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play.