A systematic review of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in the teaching of health staff
Background: An unequal distribution of the social determinants of health drives health inequalities. Existing training fails to communicate the impossible circumstances that disadvantaged groups face. Game-based learning is increasingly used as an innovative method with the potential to enhance heal...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Public Health in Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535223001088 |
| _version_ | 1797359939715334144 |
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| author | Robyn Allan Lucy McCann Lucy Johnson Maya Dyson John Ford |
| author_facet | Robyn Allan Lucy McCann Lucy Johnson Maya Dyson John Ford |
| author_sort | Robyn Allan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: An unequal distribution of the social determinants of health drives health inequalities. Existing training fails to communicate the impossible circumstances that disadvantaged groups face. Game-based learning is increasingly used as an innovative method with the potential to enhance health staff's ability to address health inequalities, but its effectiveness is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in training health staff. Study design: Systematic Review. Methods: Three databases (Ovid Medline, Embase, Web of Science) and a citation search were systematically searched for articles from January 2010 to July 2023, reporting on effectiveness of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning. Titles and abstracts were screened using eligibility criteria to identify relevant studies. Data was extracted and the ROBINS-I tool was used to assess quality. Results: The search identified 7615 articles, of which thirteen were included involving 2412 healthcare workers. A variety of game-based learning tools were found to have an overall positive effect on motivation, knowledge, attitudes, and engagement of health staff. However, the significance of the results varied depending on specific game context. All included studies were judged to have serious to critical risk of bias. Conclusions: Game-based learning has the potential to improve the effectiveness of ‘equity-focused’ training for health staff. Educators and researchers should further collaborate to expand the tools available and evaluate their effectiveness on long-term clinical practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:32:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f607bf796a894af4b5472d84dc3a16d5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5352 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:32:11Z |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Public Health in Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-f607bf796a894af4b5472d84dc3a16d52024-01-10T04:39:23ZengElsevierPublic Health in Practice2666-53522024-06-017100462A systematic review of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in the teaching of health staffRobyn Allan0Lucy McCann1Lucy Johnson2Maya Dyson3John Ford4Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK; Corresponding author. Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK.Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UKWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UKSandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, UKWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UKBackground: An unequal distribution of the social determinants of health drives health inequalities. Existing training fails to communicate the impossible circumstances that disadvantaged groups face. Game-based learning is increasingly used as an innovative method with the potential to enhance health staff's ability to address health inequalities, but its effectiveness is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in training health staff. Study design: Systematic Review. Methods: Three databases (Ovid Medline, Embase, Web of Science) and a citation search were systematically searched for articles from January 2010 to July 2023, reporting on effectiveness of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning. Titles and abstracts were screened using eligibility criteria to identify relevant studies. Data was extracted and the ROBINS-I tool was used to assess quality. Results: The search identified 7615 articles, of which thirteen were included involving 2412 healthcare workers. A variety of game-based learning tools were found to have an overall positive effect on motivation, knowledge, attitudes, and engagement of health staff. However, the significance of the results varied depending on specific game context. All included studies were judged to have serious to critical risk of bias. Conclusions: Game-based learning has the potential to improve the effectiveness of ‘equity-focused’ training for health staff. Educators and researchers should further collaborate to expand the tools available and evaluate their effectiveness on long-term clinical practice.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535223001088Game-based learningMedical educationHealth-equityInequalities |
| spellingShingle | Robyn Allan Lucy McCann Lucy Johnson Maya Dyson John Ford A systematic review of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in the teaching of health staff Public Health in Practice Game-based learning Medical education Health-equity Inequalities |
| title | A systematic review of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in the teaching of health staff |
| title_full | A systematic review of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in the teaching of health staff |
| title_fullStr | A systematic review of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in the teaching of health staff |
| title_full_unstemmed | A systematic review of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in the teaching of health staff |
| title_short | A systematic review of ‘equity-focused’ game-based learning in the teaching of health staff |
| title_sort | systematic review of equity focused game based learning in the teaching of health staff |
| topic | Game-based learning Medical education Health-equity Inequalities |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535223001088 |
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