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Gamification and Virtual Reality for Enhancing Disaster Preparedness Among University Students and Health Workers: A
Etika Emaliyawati1, Firman Sugiharto2, Kusman Ibrahim3
1Department of Emergency and Critical Care Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia.
Background:
Effective disaster training is essential for developing competencies in rapid decision-making, teamwork, and protocol-based actions. However, conventional approaches, such as lectures and limited simulations, often face challenges, including low engagement and difficulty replicating complex disaster scenarios. These limitations have driven the adoption of innovative strategies, such as gamification and virtual reality (VR), to enhance disaster education.
Purpose:
This scoping review aimed to synthesise and critically evaluate evidence on the effectiveness of gamification and VR-based interventions in improving disaster preparedness learning outcomes among university students and health workers.
Methods:
This scoping review followed the Arksey and O'Malley framework. Studies were searched in EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, SAGE Journal, and Taylor & Francis using relevant keywords. Included studies were original research in English that evaluated gamification or VR in disaster training contexts. The data were analysed using descriptive, qualitative, and narrative synthesis.
Results:
A total of 24 studies were included, with diverse designs. Across the included studies, interventions were divided into two categories: gamification and virtual reality-based interventions. In addition, learning outcomes were consistently reported across three domains: cognitive outcomes (e.g. disaster preparedness knowledge, triage knowledge, crisis management competence), psychomotor outcomes (e.g. triage skills, triage accuracy, intervention correctness, decision speed), and affective outcomes (e.g. self-efficacy, satisfaction, motivation, preparedness attitudes).
Conclusion:
Gamification and VR interventions improve disaster preparedness learning outcomes among students and health workers across cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. These approaches offer flexible and engaging alternatives to conventional training and may support scalable disaster education programs. Future studies should use more rigorous comparative designs, standardized outcome measures, and long-term follow-up to assess skill retention and transfer to real-world settings.
