Is there a place for the "serious game" in the continuing education in nursing homes?

Abstract

In a context of ever-changing training, computerization of nursing homes can open the range of training solutions by the use of Virtual, playful and interactive role playing. While this method is already used in other industries, the objective of our study is to explore the perception of health and social sector professionals by confronting them to the first "serious game" designed to enhance health and social care for elderly dependent people. An expertment was developed with 117 players of 8 nursing homes belonging to the same group. Each user has played 3 situations during approx. 1 hour.and were asked to complete a self-Administered questionnaire. First results of our quantitative analysis underline in particular the ease of handling, the link between game and daily practice, the interest and the potential of these different elements for learning. These results are generally very encouraging, especially since the sample involves a wide age differencey. The scenarii are particularly valued for their realism and if one of them is reported to be disturbing, it is also the one which is said to be the most interesting. This conjunction is in line with theories of cognitive conflict which highlight the acceptance of self-questioning. The quantitative analysis is enriched by qualitative feedbacks through open-ended questions: they allow not only the explanation of the positive trend, but also the identenfication of the limits. This 'in vivo' experiment, that is close to real-life conditions, helps to consider multiple uses for the "serious game" together with continuing education facilities.