A Systematic Review of Serious Games in Training Health Care Professionals

Abstract

Serious games are computer-based games designed for training purposes. They are poised to expand their role in medical education. This systematic review, conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, aimed to synthesize current serious gaming trends in health care training, especially those pertaining to developmental methodologies and game evaluation. PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were queried for relevant documents published through December 2014. Of the 3737 publications identified, 48 of them, covering 42 serious games, were included. From 2007 to 2014, they demonstrate a growth from 2 games and 2 genres to 42 games and 8 genres. Overall, study design was heterogeneous and methodological quality by MERQSI score averaged 10.5/18, which is modest. Seventy-nine percent of serious games were evaluated for training outcomes. As the number of serious games for health care training continues to grow, having schemas that organize how educators approach their development and evaluation is essential for their success.

Recriar-Se Lúdico No Desenvolvimento De Jogos Na Saúde: Referências Teórico-Metodológicas À Produção De Subjetividades Críticas

“…The same premise is repeated in the case of the use of games in training health professionals, in which the intended effect is the top-down absorption of content. [1][2][3]17 That said, the vision of education enshrined in the majority of productions of serious games is restricted and traditional, which inviabilizes critical thinking as it limits human experiences to the norms of the training institutions. The learning may be reduced to the transmission of knowledge and to the disciplining of bodies for the production of behaviors held as ideal for what is considered good health in the view of the specialists.…”

“…This global scenario confers significance and discussion regarding technological production and the study of games, whether for educational purposes or for industrial production, in the national and international ambits -which are intrinsically related. [1][2][3][4][5] In spite of the richness of the sociological and philosophical concepts regarding the ludic, seen in its disruptive, imaginative and re-inventive dimensions as something inherent to the subjectivities in human cultures, it is not always considered in the production of technological development of games with educational purposes, in particular in areas where technique predominates over human experience, such as in health and in computer engineering. A more attentive look at the concepts of the ludic enshrined in the initiatives of the serious games, or in the technological productions of the electronic games in general, reveals the preponderance of positivist approaches, which restrict the re-inventive possibilities of the play, limiting it to utilitarian instrumentations aimed at the market or at disciplining human action.…”

“…Currently, the term covers a wide range of electronic games used in the context of simulation, in widely varying areas. [1][2][3][4]17 One of the fundamental principles of the use of serious games in education is based in the argument that learning occurs through dynamics of realign-ment between the environment and the participants, facilitated by simulation techniques. Competitiveness, entertainment and the players' comments are seen as having important investigative potential for assessing the results of the changes in behavior, in particular in health.…”

Acquiring Critical Thinking and Decision-Making Skills: An Evaluation of a Serious Game Used by Undergraduate Dental Students in Dental Public Health

“…Serious games have been used for educating and training healthcare students and professionals, and it can be claimed they have positive effects on knowledge or skill improvement (Blakely et al 2009;Akl et al 2010;Graafland et al 2012;Akl et al 2013;Wang et al 2016). In addition, serious games can provide opportunities for healthcare students to practice in safe environments (Blakely et al 2009).…”

A computational model based on human performance for fluid management in critical care

“…One of the most important complex Cyber Physiochemical Systems is the physiology of the human body. Currently physicians train on Wizard of Oz virtual patients, mannequins, standardized patient or medical serious games for standardized, repeated practice as well as specific feedback [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]. High fidelity, physiology based simulations are currently rare but will become more prevalent since the need for them is being increasingly expressed.…”