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Demonstrating Learning Effects in the Training of Healthcare Professionals Through Serious Games: A Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Serious games (SGs) have emerged as a promising tool for educating healthcare professionals, providing immersive and interactive learning experiences. However, healthcare professionals often require robust evidence of educational effectiveness before adopting SGs as credible training tools. This necessitates a better understanding of how learning effects can be demonstrated and which approaches can be integrated into the development process of SGs.
Objective:
This scoping review aims to map the scientific literature on the methodologies used by developers and researchers to demonstrate learning effects in SGs for healthcare professionals. The focus of this work is to identify how these effects are measured and how these methodologies can be incorporated into the development of SGs.
Methods:
Following Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a systematic search of databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Reviews, ACM, IEEE, ERIC, and Education) was conducted. Articles were screened based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, focusing on studies that describe how learning effects of SGs aimed at healthcare professionals were evaluated.
Results:
A total of 302 studies were included in this review. The methodologies for demonstrating learning effects varied across these studies, with most focusing on learning skills, particularly in surgical training.
Conclusions:
Learning effects can be demonstrated both within SGs (embedded) and outside SGs (external). To demonstrate desired learning effects during development and prototype testing, developers should consider early how future clients would like to evaluate their employees in practice and incorporate these elements into the SG. Where available, validated and recognized checklists should be translated into automated performance metrics. With the right design, and in combination with questionnaires, it is possible to establish content, face, construct and concurrent validity, or apply more contemporary frameworks such as of Messick’s. Clinical Trial: not applicable
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Copyright
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