Gamification of health professions education:a systematic review

Gamification refers to using game attributes in a non-gaming context. Health professions educators increasingly turn to gamification to optimize students' learning outcomes. However, little is known about the concept of gamification and its possible working mechanisms. This review focused on empirical evidence for the effectiveness of gamification approaches and theoretical rationales for applying the chosen game attributes. We systematically searched multiple databases, and included all empirical studies evaluating the use of game attributes in health professions education. Of 5044 articles initially identified, 44 met the inclusion criteria. Negative outcomes for using gamification were not reported. Almost all studies included assessment attributes (n = 40), mostly in combination with conflict/challenge attributes (n = 27). Eight studies revealed that this specific combination had increased the use of the learning material, sometimes leading to improved learning outcomes. A relatively small number of studies was performed to explain mechanisms underlying the use of game attributes (n = 7). Our findings suggest that it is possible to improve learning outcomes in health professions education by using gamification, especially when employing game attributes that improve learning behaviours and attitudes towards learning. However, most studies lacked well-defined control groups and did not apply and/or report theory to understand underlying processes. Future research should clarify mechanisms underlying gamified educational interventions and explore theories that could explain the effects of these interventions on learning outcomes, using well-defined control groups, in a longitudinal way. In doing so, we can build on existing theories and gain a practical and comprehensive understanding of how to select the right game elements for the right educational context and the right type of student

An evaluation of undergraduate student nurses' gameful experience whilst playing a digital escape room as part of a FIRST year module: a cross-sectional study

The circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated the use of digital teaching and learning in health professions education. Digital gamification-based teaching and learning activities are innovative and versatile tools for the acquisition of professional competencies in higher education, which can be used on a range of topics and can be supplemental to other teaching methods

Pedagogic development of a gamified approach to enhancing engagement in interprofessional education

Inter-professional education (IPE) is an integral part of learning for undergraduate healthcare students. From the evidence in the literature about the benefits of linked learning, collaboration between the health professions early in student development can lead to improved patient outcomes. This article reflects on the adoption at Keele University in the United Kingdom (UK), of a novel approach to introducing inter-professional education – with the intention of increasing interest in undergraduate health students across the Health faculty. A card-based scenario game (a ‘Braincept’ game) in the style of a pub quiz introduced elements of gamification, in order to engage students and increase their awareness of various healthcare professionals’ roles and interactions. This article assesses the impact of using gamification elements and outlines pedagogic principles underpinning development of this novel intervention

Serious gaming and gamification education in health professions: Systematic review

Background: There is a worldwide shortage of health workers, and this issue requires innovative education solutions. Serious gaming and gamification education have the potential to provide a quality, cost-effective, novel approach that is flexible, portable, and enjoyable and allow interaction with tutors and peers. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of serious gaming/gamification for health professions education compared with traditional learning, other types of digital education, or other serious gaming/gamification interventions in terms of patient outcomes, knowledge, skills, professional attitudes, and satisfaction (primary outcomes) as well as economic outcomes of education and adverse events (secondary outcomes). Methods: A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Knowledge, Educational Resources Information Centre, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature was conducted from 1990 to August 2017. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster RCTs were eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers independently searched, screened, and assessed the study quality and extracted data. A meta-analysis was not deemed appropriate due to the heterogeneity of populations, interventions, comparisons, and outcomes. Therefore, a narrative synthesis is presented. Results: A total of 27 RCTs and 3 cluster RCTs with 3634 participants were included. Two studies evaluated gamification interventions, and the remaining evaluated serious gaming interventions. One study reported a small statistically significant difference between serious gaming and digital education of primary care physicians in the time to control blood pressure in a subgroup of their patients already taking antihypertensive medications. There was evidence of a moderate-to-large magnitude of effect from five studies evaluating individually delivered interventions for objectively measured knowledge compared with traditional learning. There was also evidence of a small-to-large magnitude of effect from 10 studies for improved skills compared with traditional learning. Two and four studies suggested equivalence between interventions and controls for knowledge and skills, respectively. Evidence suggested that serious gaming was at least as effective as other digital education modalities for these outcomes. There was insufficient evidence to conclude whether one type of serious gaming/gamification intervention is more effective than any other. There was limited evidence for the effects of serious gaming/gamification on professional attitudes. Serious gaming/gamification may improve satisfaction, but the evidence was limited. Evidence was of low or very low quality for all outcomes. Quality of evidence was downgraded due to the imprecision, inconsistency, and limitations of the study. Conclusions: Serious gaming/gamification appears to be at least as effective as controls, and in many studies, more effective for improving knowledge, skills, and satisfaction. However, the available evidence is mostly of low quality and calls for further rigorous, theory-driven research

The Industry and Policy Context for Digital Games for Empowerment and Inclusion:Market Analysis, Future Prospects and Key Challenges in Videogames, Serious Games and Gamification

The effective use of digital games for empowerment and social inclusion (DGEI) of people and communities at risk of exclusion will be shaped by, and may influence the development of a range of sectors that supply products, services, technology and research. The principal industries that would appear to be implicated are the 'videogames' industry, and an emerging 'serious games' industry. The videogames industry is an ecosystem of developers, publishers and other service providers drawn from the interactive media, software and broader ICT industry that services the mainstream leisure market in games, The 'serious games' industry is a rather fragmented and growing network of firms, users, research and policy makers from a variety of sectors. This emerging industry is are trying to develop knowledge, products, services and a market for the use of digital games, and products inspired by digital games, for a range of non-leisure applications. This report provides a summary of the state of play of these industries, their trajectories and the challenges they face. It also analyses the contribution they could make to exploiting digital games for empowerment and social inclusion. Finally, it explores existing policy towards activities in these industries and markets, and draws conclusions as to the future policy relevance of engaging with them to support innovation and uptake of effective digital game-based approaches to empowerment and social inclusion.JRC.J.3-Information Societ

A study of gamification effectiveness

Studies have shown that gamification increases motivation and user experience when it comes to a certain behavior or completing a process. Gamification is often deeply associated with naïve animations and stylized text. This paper addresses the effect that visual representation has on the motivation of a subject by measuring their motivation after completing a mundane process, with entertaining gamification elements as well as gamification elements presented in plain text. For the purposes of this study a within subject design was used to gather data. Participants completed a mundane task three times, once without any gamification elements, once with pragmatic feedback and once with entertaining feedback. After completion the participants filled out the same Likert scale survey. The results were evaluated using the Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks test method, indicated that there was not a significant difference in user motivation between the visually stylized and plain text feedback. If conducted on a larger scale, this discovery could lead to a reduction time and cost for gamification development

Why so serious?:game-based learning in health profession education: state of the art and future directions

If you look around carefully, you see a lot of use of game elements that aim to motivate people towards a certain behaviour. From smileys on posts that aim to lower your driving speed, to earning stars in language learning apps. Game-based learning is the use of game elements to make learning more attractive and to encourage people to continue their learning. This is logical right? The longer you learn, the better the outcome. Or not? This doctoral thesis examines the effects of using game-based learning in medical education. Why and when should it be applied? We have investigated whether it is advisable to develop a game suitable for everyone. We discovered that there are 5 different game personas (player types): competitors, socializers, social achievers, explorers and trolls. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to social interactions and achieving goals within a game. From this we were able to develop a taxonomy, which has been tested at almost all medical universities in the Netherlands. It shows that medical students are mainly socially oriented players. While most game based learnings are not at all. This doctoral research can offer perspective in current developments, gives direction where it could go, but also has a critical note on the use of game-based learning that is should not be applied too much