Case of success · A.P.E Foundation Institute of Health Research of Aragon (IIS Aragón) Government of Aragon

Apetest

500

students participating in the pilot project and the planned deployment in institutes in Aragon.

Case summary

An interactive and gamified application that integrates an internationally validated clinical questionnaire to bring early detection of TDA to adolescents from within the classroom itself.

In Aragon, it is estimated that about 8,000 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 may have a problem related to eating behavior, and only a portion of them are evaluated by specialized health services. With the aim of reducing that gap and bringing early detection closer to where adolescents are—the educational centers—the A.P.E. Foundation, the Institute of Health Research of Aragon (IIS Aragón), and the Government of Aragon have launched ApeTest, an interactive and gamified application that integrates an internationally validated clinical questionnaire (the SCOFF test) in a format designed for the classroom.

Client

A.P.E Foundation Institute of Health Research of Aragon (IIS Aragón) Government of Aragon

Sector

Healthcare

Service

Technological projects in health · Digital transformation

500 students

They participated in the pilot.

110 cases

Annual average value at Hospital Clínico.

8,000 teenagers

Target audience in Aragon.

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01 The challenge

Getting to teenagers with a clinical tool that they feel like their own

The main obstacle in the early detection of mental health problems in adolescents is not a lack of scientific tools—validated clinical questionnaires have been available for years—but the difficulty in reaching that audience with a format that does not generate rejection or a sense of intrusion. Traditional clinical questionnaires designed for the adult healthcare sector are unattractive and poorly understood by young people. The A.P.E. Foundation and the IIS Aragón sought a digital solution that is accessible, intuitive, and non-invasive, capable of integrating validated scientific tools into a virtual space that is close to young people, familiar and free of stigma.

02 The solution

A gamified virtual space that integrates the SCOFF test

The solution is ApeTest, a web application accessible from any device that integrates the SCOFF test—the internationally validated clinical questionnaire for the detection of TCA—in a gamified virtual environment. Students interact with avatars and scenarios that recreate everyday situations—at home, in the classroom, in physical education classes—while completing the questionnaire in a simple and anonymous manner. The tool provides immediate results and triggers alerts when a case requires professional attention, integrating with specialized healthcare teams. Its design is inclusive and its approach is based on scientific evidence, ensuring a practical and effective experience for students, educators, and healthcare professionals.

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Key learnings

What this case teaches the sector.

Gamification reduces the friction of diagnosis in adolescents.

Adolescents are one of the most difficult groups to capture for early detection in mental health. Integrating validated scientific tools in a gamified environment, with avatars and everyday scenarios, transforms a clinical assessment into a family-friendly and close-knit experience.

The classroom becomes a natural ally of the healthcare system.

Institutes are the space where teenagers spend most of their time and where teachers and guidance teams can act as the first point of detection. Designing a digital tool adapted to the classroom turns the educational center into an active node of the public health system.

Public-private collaboration accelerates healthcare innovation.

A project that combines specialized private foundations, a public health research institute, and autonomous regional administration is the most effective triad for bringing technological innovation to the healthcare system. Each actor contributes what the others lack: scientific rigor, implementation capability, and sensitivity to the real problem.

Early detection is the greatest health savings in the medium term.

In mental health, the gap between the moment a problem appears and the moment it is detected determines the severity of treatment. Any investment in early detection pays off, first in the quality of life of the affected people and then in the efficiency of the healthcare system.

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