Virtual Gamification in Mental Health Nursing Education: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The global activation of precautionary measures to protect public health has certainly reinforced the interest of teachers in virtual simulation methodologies. In this educational framework, Serious Games seem to allow for better accessibility, including the possibility of being enjoyed or repeated a hypothetically unlimited number of times without necessarily being limited by the presence of lecturers, the availability of laboratories, the available equipment and the possible commitments of the learners themselves, contributing to the learning experience by improving the motivation, commitment to cognitive training and self-confidence of nursing students. The fields of application of virtual gamification (defined as the integration of game features in non-game contexts) seem to be varied, however, some particular fields, such as the Mental Health setting, seem to have promising results in studies with still heterogeneous design and objectives, showing the need to expand the available evidence.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS:

A scoping review will be performed according to the methodology of the Joanna Briggs Institute. The biomedical databases consulted will be MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, WebOfScience, Cochrane Library, Cinhal and Embase; extension of the grey literature search will be performed by consulting Google Scholar, ClincialTrials.gov, TRIP (Turn Research Into Practice), medRxiv, OSF Preprints, Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, Open Access Theses and Dissertations. Articles in Italian or English language available in full text format will be included. The presentation of study information will be done either through dedicated tables or in narrative form.