Pharmacy student experience, preference, and perceptions of gaming and game-based learning

Introduction: The incorporation of serious games in higher education has shown improvement in student engagement and motivation to learn. Research that explores local pharmacy student preferences of gamification aspects of serious games is scarce. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate local pharmacy student experience, preference, and perceptions of gaming and gamebased learning. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by distributing self-administered questionnaires among pharmacy students in Malaysia. Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Spearman's correlation test were used for analysis. Results: A total of 328 pharmacy students enrolled in this study, and 84.1% (n = 276) had video game experience. Students usually played video games using mobile phones (n = 231, 70%). Pharmacy students showed positive perceptions regarding serious games with a mean score of 3.69. However, limited awareness and knowledge of serious games was observed among pharmacy students. The most preferred game genres were role-playing and strategy (n = 174, 53%). Pharmacy students also preferred playing a cooperative game style (n = 113, 34.5%) with scores as a reward system (n = 204, 62.6%). Over three quarters (n = 292, 89.3%) wanted to see the results of the assessment after the game. Conclusions: This research provided information on serious games preferences of local pharmacy students. Further study should evaluate the acceptance and effectiveness of the implementation of serious games among pharmacy students in Malaysia. (c) 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigated the preferences and perceptions of serious games among local pharmacy students in Malaysia. The results showed that pharmacy students have a positive attitude towards serious games, with limited awareness and knowledge of them. The most preferred game genres were role-playing and strategy among the students.