An evaluation of undergraduate student nurses' gameful experience whilst playing a digital escape room as part of a FIRST year module: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated the use of digital teaching and learning in health professions education. Digital gamification-based teaching and learning activities are innovative and versatile tools for the acquisition of professional competencies in higher education, which can be used on a range of topics and can be supplemental to other teaching methods. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate nursing students' gameful experience whilst playing a digital escape room. In addition, we aimed to analyze the students' motivation, learning experience and outcome of the activity, and the students' perception of the degree of achievement of the intended learning outcomes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 136 undergraduate first year student nurses enrolled in a "Fundamentals of Nursing" course. METHOD: The digital escape room game took place online during the academic year 2020-2021. The measures included the GAMEX scale in its Spanish version and a self-reported questionnaire to evaluate the outcome of the scape room game and the degree of achievement of the intended learning outcomes. RESULTS: More than 80 % of the participants were moderately to very motivated to play the game. Three GAMEX dimensions achieved a mean score of 3 or above 3, namely Enjoyment, Creative Thinking and Absence of Negative effects. The mean score for each of the outcome variables was over 3. However, the degree of achievement of the learning outcomes after exiting the digital escape room was uneven. CONCLUSION: Gamification-based teaching and learning activities, such as digital escape rooms, can be effective in fostering specific skills, including teamwork, communication and critical thinking. However, they should be designed carefully, and used as a complement, rather than a substitute, of other educational activities.

Psychological impact on care professionals due to the SARS-Cov-2 virus in Spain.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the psychological impact of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic on nurses in Spain in three different dimensions: exposure to stressors, perceived emotions, and stress coping. BACKGROUND: On March 11, 2019, the World Health Organization recognized a global pandemic caused by a SARS-Cov-2 virus, COVID-19, which rapidly spread across the planet, involving a community health emergency of international scope. INTRODUCTION: The pandemic situation in health centers has led to significant changes in the work environment, compromising care professionals' physical and psychological health and resulting in strong physical and mental exhaustion. METHODS: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out, between February and April 2021, in a large sample of 1360 participants. The researchers conducted the dissemination of a validated questionnaire to working nurses in Spain. RESULTS: The sex variable in relation to the study dimensions (stressors, perceived emotions, and coping strategies) showed a mean for stressors of 62.2 ± 10.5 in women and 59.8 ± 12.5 in men (p = 0.010), showing statistically significant differences. Age was a protective factor for all dimensions (p < 0.001). Time of experience showed statistically significant differences for stressors and coping strategies in professionals with more than 15 years of experience. DISCUSSION: Female nurses who are younger, have less work experience, have not built a family of their own, and live in smaller or indoor flats may be more vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental health. Other national and international studies, in this line, have shown an important psychological impact on these professionals. CONCLUSION: It is necessary to design and adopt effective strategies and measures for the protection of nurses' mental health, as well as for the prevention and early diagnosis of possible mental health problems.