Ageism and nursing students, past or reality?: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to summarise and update existing knowledge about ageism among nursing students through the following research question: what is the perception and attitudes of ageism among student nurses? DESIGN: A systematic review of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of ageism in nursing students was carried out. DATA SOURCES: The literature search was conducted in the scientific databases Pubmed and Scopus in February 2021. REVIEW METHODS: After the screening process, 22 studies meeting the selection criteria were selected; 8 more were identified after manually searching the selected paper' reference lists. A total of 30 studies were included in the review. The JBI Critical Appraisal Checklists for Analytical Cross-Sectional studies and for Cohort Studies were used to appraise the articles' quality. RESULTS: There was large variability in the manifestation of ageism among student nurses, as well as in the instruments used for assessment. Most of the articles analysed attitudes towards old age, the majority of which were positive. Being a female student, being on the final year of study and having regular contact or cohabitation with an older adult were three of the main determinants in the expression of positive attitudes towards the elderly. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that student nurses generally have positive attitudes towards old age, although ageist beliefs and discriminatory behaviours were identified and should be studied in greater depth. Training programs for future care professionals have a responsibility to educate from a non-stereotypical perspective based on current societal needs.

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.

An evaluation of undergraduate student nurses' gameful experience while playing an escape room game as part of a community health nursing course.

BACKGROUND: The integration of innovative strategies to teaching and learning in higher education, such as escape room games, can enhance the acquisition of key professional competencies including communication, teamwork and critical thinking. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate undergraduate student nurses' gameful experience while playing an escape room game as part of a nursing course. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 126 third year student nurses enrolled in the "Community Health Nursing II" course. METHOD: The escape room game took place in a classroom at the Faculty of Health Ciences. The measures included the GAMEX scale in its Spanish version and a self-reported questionnaire to evaluate the student's outcome of scape room game immediately after the end of the activity. RESULTS: The vast majority (99.21%) considered the escape room game to be an appropriate and an innovative teaching and learning strategy. The mean score for each of the GAMEX dimensions was over 3, with the exception of Absence of negative effects. Our results suggest that the students enjoyed playing the game (mean = 4.40; SD = 0.71), that escape room games should be integrated in nursing courses (mean = 4.54; SD = 0.74) and that playing the game increased their motivation for learning (mean = 3.06; SD = 1.09). Gender differences were observed in the GAMEX Dominance dimension (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Gamification in general, and escape rooms in particular, have proven to be a valid tool for the acquisition of professional competencies in higher education.