Nursing students' perceptions of a video-based serious game's educational value: A pilot study

Hege M Johnsen; Mariann Fossum; Pirashanthie Vivekananda-Schmidt; Ann Fruhling; Åshild Slettebø

doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2017.12.022

Nursing students' perceptions of a video-based serious game's educational value: A pilot study

Nurse Educ Today. 2018 Mar:62:62-68. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2017.12.022. Epub 2017 Dec 28.

Authors

Hege M Johnsen¹, Mariann Fossum², Pirashanthie Vivekananda-Schmidt³, Ann Fruhling⁴, Åshild Slettebø²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health and Nursing Science, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway. Electronic address: hege.mari.johnsen@uia.no.
² Department of Health and Nursing Science, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway.
³ Medical Education, The Medical School, University of Sheffield, UK.
⁴ School of Interdisciplinary Informatics, College of Information Science and Technology, University of Nebraska, Omaha, USA.

PMID: 29306100
DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2017.12.022

Abstract

Background: Despite an increasing number of serious games (SGs) in nursing education, few evaluation studies specifically address their educational value in terms of face, content, and construct validity.

Objectives: To assess nursing students' perceptions of a video-based SG in terms of face, content, and construct validity. In addition, the study assessed perceptions of usability, individual factors, and preferences regarding future use.

Design: A pilot study was conducted.

Setting and participants: An SG prototype was implemented as part of two simulation courses in nursing education: one for home health care and one for hospital medical-surgical wards. The SG aimed to teach clinical reasoning and decision-making skills to nursing students caring for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A total of 249second-year nursing students participated in pilot testing of the SG.

Method: A paper-based survey was used to assess students' perceptions of the SG's educational value.

Results: Overall, students from both simulation courses perceived the SG as educationally valuable and easy to use. No significant differences were found in perceptions of educational value between nursing students with previous healthcare experience versus those with none. However, significantly more students in the home healthcare simulation course indicated that the SG tested their clinical reasoning and decision-making skills. Students from both the medical-surgical and home healthcare simulation courses suggested that more video-based SGs should be developed and used in nursing education.

Conclusions: Overall, the survey results indicate that the participants perceived the SG as educationally valuable, and that the SG has potential as an educational tool in nursing education, especially in caring for patients with chronic diseases and in home healthcare simulation. Showing a SG's educational value and user acceptance among nursing students may justify the development and application of more SGs in nursing education.

Keywords: Clinical decision-making; Computer simulation; E-learning; Games; Health care; Survey; Validation.

MeSH terms

Clinical Competence
Computer Simulation / statistics & numerical data
Education, Nursing
Female
Humans
Learning*
Male
Nursing Education Research
Pilot Projects
Problem Solving*
Students, Nursing / psychology*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Video Games*
Young Adult