Serious game is an effective learning method for primary health care education of medical students: A randomized...

The aim of this study was to compare the influence of a serious game dedicated to primary health care with traditional learning methods on knowledge of undergraduate medical students.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted with undergraduate medical students. The students (n = 27) attended to an expositive leveling lesson regard the theme "Screening on Primary Health Care", and answered to a baseline knowledge test, comprised by objective questions. Students were randomly allocated to the control and game groups, in which received a text-based material regarding "Screening on Primary Health Care" or were exposed to a serious game. An immediate knowledge test and a retention knowledge test, presenting the same questions of baseline test, were responded by students at the finish of exposure and four weeks later. The students also performed a survey evaluating the user experience on the serious game. Knowledge test scores were analysed by repeated measures ANOVA and paired sample t-test. User experience and expectation surveys were descriptively analyzed.

For the control group, the mean scores and standard deviation were 7.85 ± 0.99, 9.00 ± 1.87 and 7.69 ± 1.44 for baseline, immediate and retention knowledge tests, respectively; the score at immediate test was higher than for baseline and retention tests. The game group presented 7.07 ± 1.98, 8.00 ± 1.84 and 7.15 ± 1.41 for baseline, immediate and retention knowledge tests, respectively. The comparison between groups did not show differences at any moment (p < 0.05). The majority of the participants consider that the serious game has understandable instructions, presented the contents clearly, and it favors the engagement on study.

The serious game was effective to improve the students' knowledge on primary health care contents. Learning based on a serious game is as effective as learning based on printed text.