Effect of digital game applied to nursing students on blood pressure knowledge level: Randomized controlled study

Aim: This study was carried out to determine the effect of digital game on the evaluation of nursing students' knowledge levels regarding blood pressure measurement skills. Material and Method: This study was a single-blind, randomised controlled trial. The participants consisted of 96 nursing students who were assigned to the control group I (31 people), control II (32 people) and digital game group (33 people) between February 2024 and June 2024. The students in the experimental group received theoretical training and worked on blood pressure application for two weeks with the digital game developed for the study, while the students in the control group received only theoretical training on the subject. The study data was collected using Patient Information Form and Arterial Blood Pressure Academic Achievement Test. Percentage, frequency, Cronbach Alpha, Mann Whitney U, Independent T, Wilcoxon Test and ANOVA test were used to analyze the data. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups according to the sociodemographic characteristics of the students included in the study. The post-test mean score of the students in the experimental group (57.88±14.03) was statistically significantly higher (p˂0.001) than the post-test mean score of the students in the control I group (40.48±20.18) and the control II group (52.5±15.81). Conclusions: In line with the findings obtained, it was concluded that the digital game technique developed for nursing students was more effective than the traditional method in increasing the knowledge level of students about arterial blood pressure application. Keywords: Digital game, nursing education, vital signs, blood pressure