An educational board game for learning and teaching burn care: A preliminary evaluation

Abstract

Timely and effective assessment, resuscitation and transfer of patients with severe burns has been demonstrated to improve outcome. A dedicated one-day course exists to equip all frontline emergency healthcare workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to manage severe burn injuries. More recently, a board game has been developed which aims to act as a learning and practice development tool for those managing burn injuries. We present the findings of our preliminary evaluation of this game. We played this game with a multidisciplinary group of staff including doctors, nurses and therapists. A proportion of these participants had previously completed the Emergency Management of Severe Burns (EMSB) course. We obtained subjective results from a questionnaire, using both Likert-type ratings and open-ended questions. The styling of the game and ease of instructions was rated from ‘average’ to ‘excellent’. The relevance of questions was rated from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’. The usefulness of the game to increase knowledge and stimulate discussion was rated between ‘good’ and ‘excellent’. All participants stated that they would recommend the game to other healthcare professionals. This is the only burns and plastic surgery-related educational game in the literature. Educational games adhere to principles of adult learning but there is insufficient evidence in the literature to either confirm or refute their utility. Our preliminary evaluation of this game has shown that it achieves its main aims, namely to increase knowledge in burn care and to stimulate discussion. Further work is required to assess the board game.

Effects of games on students’ emotions of learning science and achievement in chemistry

“…GBL is an effective form of instruction to improve the learning achievement of elementary school students (Hobbs & Yan, 2008), middle school students (Giannakos, 2013), high school students (Papastergiou, 2009), and even undergraduate students (Boeker et al, 2013). In terms of board and card games, a previous study found that students who participated in burn game activities achieved the main learning aims, namely increasing their knowledge of burn care and stimulating discussion (Whittam & Chow, 2017). Likewise, a pediatric board game was found to motivate students to advance their knowledge of pediatric medicine (Ogershok & Cottrell, 2004).…”

Let’s play board game together: How board games benefit child development and learning

“…While Berge, Telke, Tate and Trofholz (2019) utilized board game as a tool to observe family functional factors, family interaction, family relationship quality and parenting behaviors during the board games play at home. In addition, educational board games have been used in some areas of medical and health professionals' training and have been shown to enhance learners' knowledge, enjoyment and interest in the subject (Whittam, & Chow, 2017).…”

Review of Serious Games for Medical Operation

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