Development and effects of advanced cardiac resuscitation nursing education program using web-based serious game: application of the IPO model

Abstract

Background: The significant rise in cardiac arrest cases within hospitals, coupled with a low survival rate, poses a critical health issue. And in most situations, nurses are the first responders. To develop nursing students’ competencies in advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation, systematic and repetitive learner-centered self-directed education that can promote the integration of knowledge and practice is necessary.

Objectives: To develop an advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation training program using a web-based serious game for nursing students and verifying its efficacy.

Design: The program was developed based on the stages of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation, and the Input Process Outcome Model of Serious Game Design formed the theoretical basis.

Settings and participants: The research design employed a before-and-after non-equivalent control group, and data collection took place among 2nd and 3rd year nursing students at K University in D City, Korea, from March 2, 2023, to March 24, 2023.

Methods: The program consisted of a 120-min video lecture, 30 min of a web-based serious game, 30-min of written self-reported debriefing, and individual feedback using a video conference system. The effectiveness of the program was measured for both groups using an 89-item structured questionnaire regarding knowledge, confidence in performance, problem-solving ability, and learning transfer expectations.

Results: The program was effective in improving nursing students’ advanced cardiopulmonary knowledge, confidence in performance, problem-solving ability, and learning transfer expectation immediately after intervention.

Conclusions: This program underscores the necessity of a new direction in nursing education, emphasizing learner-centered approaches, rather than the traditional focus on the mere transmission of basic knowledge and skills, to cultivate nurses with advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation capabilities.