User Assessment of "InsuOnLine," a Game to Fight Clinical Inertia in Diabetes: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Game-Based Learning
• Diabetes Mellitus Management

Background:

• Primary care physicians require effective education on insulin therapy for diabetes mellitus.
• Traditional educational methods may not fully address the complexities of insulin prescribing.
• Clinical inertia in diabetes management remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot test the usability and playability of "InsuOnLine," a serious game designed for educating physicians on insulin therapy.
• To gather user feedback for refining the game's design and functionality.
• To assess the potential of serious games in continuing medical education for diabetes management.

Main Methods:

• "InsuOnLine" was developed using Andragogy and Problem-Based Learning principles with gamification elements.
• A prototype was evaluated by medical doctors and students using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and a playability questionnaire.
• The beta version underwent retesting after incorporating user feedback and design corrections.

Main Results:

• The "InsuOnLine" prototype achieved a SUS score of 88, with identified areas for improvement.
• The corrected beta version received a higher SUS score of 92.5.
• Users reported increased knowledge, confidence in prescribing insulin, and perceived impact on patient care, finding the game fun, engaging, and realistic.

Conclusions:

• "InsuOnLine" was rated as user-friendly, enjoyable, and beneficial for learning insulin therapy.
• The game is a promising tool for large-scale continuing medical education in diabetes, potentially combating clinical inertia.
• Further studies are planned to evaluate the educational effectiveness of "InsuOnLine."