An aging simulation game’s impact on the attitudes of nursing students

The aging of the population poses new challenges, among others, a greater concern with the teaching of geriatrics and gerontology, especially to future health professionals. The simulation game "Aging Nursing Game" ® was used with the objective of evaluating the impact of an aging simulation game on nursing students' attitudes towards the elderly.

 A pre-test and post-test type quasi-experimental study was performed, without control group. The research was developed between February and July 2018. The subjects of this study were second-year undergraduate nursing students. A game was used as an intervention. To measure the effectiveness of the game, a questionnaire was applied before and after the intervention. The data collection instrument consisted of a questionnaire composed of two parts, the first part for sociodemographic characterization, and another consisting of the Portuguese version of the Kogan Scale (KAOP).

The sample consisted of 45 undergraduate nursing students from the 2nd year corresponding to 75% of the population. The attitude towards the elderly person improved significantly before and after the intervention. Of the 34 items on the Kogan Scale (KAOP), 21 improved significantly.

The simulation game has proven to be effective in teaching students changing attitudes towards the elderly (p <0.05).