Gamified Learning and Medication Error Prevention

THE EFFECT OF GAMIFIED LEARNING ON KNOWLEDGE LEVELS REGARDING MEDICATION ERROR PREVENTION IN NURSING STUDENTS: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification (using interactive tools like Kahoot!) on nursing students' awareness and knowledge levels regarding medication safety. Medication errors are a significant concern in healthcare, and innovative educational methods are needed to improve patient safety. The research will compare the traditional teaching methods with a game-based learning approach to determine which is more effective in enhancing students' clinical skills and attention to safety protocols.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Nursing Education; Patient Safety; Medication Safety
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Gamified Medication Safety Training

Detailed Description

Following the World Health Organization's (WHO) "Medication Without Harm" challenge and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) guidelines, this study focuses on reducing medication errors through innovative nursing education. The research is designed to measure how gamified learning modules influence the cognitive and practical competencies of nursing students.

The intervention group will participate in sessions incorporating gamification elements, such as competitive quizzes (Kahoot!), rewards, and interactive feedback, while the control group will receive standard lecture-based instruction. Data will be collected using pre-test and post-test knowledge assessments and medication safety awareness scales. The study seeks to provide evidence on whether digital gamification can be a sustainable and more engaging alternative to traditional nursing education models in the context of patient safety.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Istanbul
    • Samsun, Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Ondokuz Mayis University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Volunteering to participate in the study,
2. Taking the Fundamentals of Nursing course for the first time

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Not volunteering to participate in the study.
2. Graduating from a health vocational high school or an associate's degree.
3. Not continuing the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental Intervention; The experimental intervention involves a game-based learning approach focused on medication safety. Participants in this group will receive nursing safety training integrated with gamification elements (Kahoot! ) to enhance their awareness of medication errors and safety protocols. This training is designed based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) 'Medication Without Harm' challenges and international safety guidelines. The intervention aims to increase clinical competency through competitive and engaging digital educational tools.	Behavioral: Gamified Medication Safety Training; This study aims to compare traditional education methods with a gamified learning approach (using Kahoot!) to enhance nursing students' knowledge and awareness of medication safety. Starting in the 8th week of the curriculum, the process ensures participant privacy through code names while collecting baseline data via personal information forms and pre-tests. Between weeks 9 and 12, both the experimental and control groups receive 12 hours of theoretical and 24 hours of laboratory instruction on medication errors. Following this core training, the experimental group participates in a 4-week gamification intervention featuring 20-question interactive sessions and class discussions in a separate environment to prevent contamination. The study concludes with a first post-test immediately after the intervention and a second post-test four weeks later to evaluate knowledge retention, finally providing the same gamified experience to the control group at the end of the semester to ensure edu
No Intervention: No Intervention; The control group will receive traditional nursing education regarding medication safety and patient safety protocols. This instruction consists of standard classroom lectures and literature-based materials without the integration of any gamification elements or interactive digital tools like Kahoot!. The content provided is based on the same clinical guidelines (WHO and ISMP) as the experimental group to ensure educational consistency, but it follows a conventional pedagogical approach.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Medication Error Knowledge Score	Total score obtained from the "Medication Error Knowledge Assessment Form". The scale evaluates students' theoretical and practical knowledge levels regarding medication safety protocols	Immediately after the 4-week gamification intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Knowledge Retention Level	Assessment of the sustainability of the knowledge gained during the intervention, measured using the same assessment form to compare scores over time.	Four weeks after the completion of the intervention (Post-test 2/Retention test).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ondokuz Mayıs University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Aydınlı, A. (2025). Öğrenci hemşirelerin ilaç güvenliği yeterliliklerinin belirlenmesi. Uluborlu Mesleki Bilimler Dergisi, 8(2), 16-22. Berman, A., Snyder, S. J., & Frandsen, G. (2016). Kozier and Erb's fundamentals of nursing: Concepts, process and practice (10th ed., pp. 750-827). Pearson Education Inc. Buendgens, B., et al. (2023). Gamification in nursing safety training: Effects on medication safety awareness. BMC Nursing, 22(1), 145-152. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01123-9 Chen, F., Lui, A. M., & Martinelli, S. M. (2021). A systematic review of game-based learning in nursing education. Nurse Education in Practice, 52, 103021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103021

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 15, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 15, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): January 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 1, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Nursing Students; Medication Errors; Game-Based Learning; Kahoot!
• Other Study ID Numbers: OMU-HEM-ESAS-26

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Other researchers may view the study once its is published.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No