A trading‐card game teaching about host defence

Objectives To heighten the understanding of host–disease interactions by adolescents and young adults, using a trading card game format. Design  A trading card game was developed in which paired students attack one another with pathogens or parry those attacks with appropriate defences. Twenty‐five infectious pathogens or cancers, 30 defence agents and 6 health status modifying conditions were included. Setting  A middle school, upper school and medical school in the United States. Subjects  8th grade, 10th grade and first year medical students. Results The game was tested using pre‐test/post‐test evaluations in 8th graders, 10th graders and medical students. Factual information, pathogen‐organ specificity, and general concepts were tested. There was a significant increase in test scores, from 39% to 58% correct in the 8th graders ( P  < 0·0001), from 47% to 59% among 10th graders ( P  = 0·0007), and from 80% to 88% ( P  = 0·049) among the medical students. Responses to control questions unrelated to the game did not improve. Conclusion  An interactive trading card format is a useful method for conveying information about host defence.