Effectiveness of Game-Based Learning in Pain Management Education for Nursing Students

July 25, 2026 updated by: Seda Akutay, TC Erciyes University

Effectiveness of Game-Based Learning in Pain Management Education for Nursing Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of game-based learning on undergraduate nursing students' pain management knowledge, learning motivation, and educational satisfaction.

Background: Pain management is a core nursing competency. Although game-based learning is increasingly used in nursing education, evidence regarding its effectiveness in pain management education remains limited.

Design: Single-blind randomized controlled trial.

Methods: Undergraduate nursing students were randomly assigned to either a game-based learning or traditional education group. Pain management knowledge, learning motivation, and educational satisfaction were assessed immediately after the intervention and at a two-week follow-up.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

95

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Kayseri
      • Kayseri, Kayseri, Turkey (Türkiye), 38030
        • Erciyes University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. being a second-year nursing student,
  2. owning a mobile phone with an internet connection.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. having previously taken a course/class on pain,
  2. incompletely filling out data collection forms,
  3. declining to participate in the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control group
Experimental: Intervention group
Other: game-based learning
Participants received game-based education on pain management through a digital escape room game.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Knowledge score
Time Frame: change from baseline knowledge score after at two week
The performance of all students included in this study regarding the pain management and nursing care course will be evaluated using a 10-item knowledge test. The students will complete the test after the course has been completed. The test scores will range from 0 to 100. Higher scores will indicate a higher level of knowledge.
change from baseline knowledge score after at two week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
learning motivation
Time Frame: change from baseline motivation score after at two week
The level of motivation regarding the pain management and nursing care course will be evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The VAS will be scored on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. The students will indicate their level of motivation regarding the course using the VAS. Higher scores on the VAS will indicate a higher level of motivation.
change from baseline motivation score after at two week
Educational satisfaction
Time Frame: change from baseline satisfaction score after at two week
The level of satisfaction regarding the pain management and nursing care course will be evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The VAS will be scored on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. The students will indicate their level of satisfaction with the course using the VAS. Higher scores on the VAS will indicate a higher level of satisfaction.
change from baseline satisfaction score after at two week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

TC Erciyes University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 16, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 21, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

July 22, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 30, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ERUniversity

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

This study does not include any patient data.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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