UNASSIGNED: Depression and anxiety are prevalent mental health issues addressed by online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) via mobile applications. This study introduces Sokoon, a gamified CBT app tailored for Arabic individuals, focusing on alleviating depression and anxiety symptoms (DASDs).
UNASSIGNED: The objectives of this study were to: Evaluate the effectiveness of Sokoon in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Assess the usability of the intervention through user engagement and adherence to CBT skills.
UNASSIGNED: A single-group pre-post design evaluated Sokoon\'s impact on adults with DASDs. In consultation with psychiatrists, Sokoon integrates evidence-based skills such as relaxation, gratitude, behavioral activation, and cognitive restructuring, represented by planets. Its design incorporates Hexad theory and gamification, supported by a dynamic difficulty adjustment algorithm. The study involves 30 participants aged 18-35 (86.7% female), specifically those with mild to moderate depression and anxiety.
UNASSIGNED: Based on a sample of 30 participants, Sokoon, a smartphone-based intervention, significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety (d = 2.7, d = 3.6, p < 0.001). Over a two-week trial, participants experienced a notable decrease in anxiety and depressive symptoms, indicating the effectiveness of the model. Sokoon shows potential as a valuable tool for addressing DASDs.
UNASSIGNED: Sokoon, the gamified CBT application, offers an innovative approach to increasing CBT skills adherence and engagement. By leveraging Hexad theory and gamification, Sokoon provides an enjoyable and engaging user experience while maintaining the effectiveness of traditional CBT techniques. The study findings suggest that Sokoon has a positive impact on reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The objective of this review was to characterize the methods of delivery and assessment of Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA)-style activities in pharmacy education. A secondary objective was to utilize available data to determine best practices for educators interested in developing similar activities.
A meta-narrative approach according to the guidance of the RAMESES standards was used for this review. A broad literature search was conducted using PubMed and Embase. Studies published on the use of a CYOA-style patient case format in pharmacy education were identified and appraised individually for their relevance.
Thirteen studies from the pharmacy education literature were included in the review. Activities were delivered for 25 unique topics, largely in small groups during class via patient simulation or interactive data collection software. Overall, students have a positive perception of CYOA-style activities, with positive results regarding knowledge development and student engagement. The most commonly reported challenge to implementing CYOA-style patient case activities was the up-front time commitment to develop activities.
This review provides a snapshot of the small but expanding body of literature on CYOA-style patient case activities in pharmacy education. CYOA-style activities are recommended for expanded use in pharmacy education as the preponderance of studies that assessed knowledge development showed significant improvement in knowledge after participation in CYOA-style activities. Additionally, students have a positive perception of CYOA-style activities and reported that they were enjoyable, improved their confidence, and helped them learn course material.

Microbiology is a difficult topic to teach given that the objects of study are mostly invisible to the learner. The majority of university students beginning their training in biology are more interested in natural objects that can be seen with the naked eye. Nonetheless, micro-organisms are key components of the biosphere and a good microbiological background is required for a thorough training in natural sciences. Lectures are still a common teaching format in universities. However, it is a passive learning format and no longer considered the most adequate approach in most teaching situations. Instead, alternatives consisting of more active teaching formats have been recognized to better motivate students to acquire and consolidate knowledge. In addition, transferable skills, such as effective communication, critical thinking and time management, are acquired simultaneously. A similar engagement can be obtained using games as part of the teaching experience. In this study, we designed a card game to teach key concepts in basic bacteriology and mycology to bachelor-level students. The first task consists of creating and designing microbial characters based on a list of species. This proved very useful for second-year bachelor students in terms of grasping concepts such as cell morphologies, taxonomy and life cycles. In the second task, third-year students used the characters created in the second-year class to develop a game based on an ecological function, namely forest litter degradation. In addition, they also considered experimental validation of the microbial activities and incorporated knowledge acquired in other fields.

Social media marketing plays a relevant role in the brand promotion of enterprises owing to its advantages of rapid and diversified communication with consumers. The Chinese Internet enterprise Alipay launched Ant Forest as a mobile application with gamified social functions, bringing consumer-brand engagement. Ant Forest provides a variety of gamification functions (e.g. point, leaderboard, badge, task and teamwork) to encourage users to participate in environmental protection and public welfare activities. These gamification mechanisms, combined with the spread of social media, have realised the co-creation of user brand value. In the current study, 305 Gen Z users of Ant Forest were surveyed through an online questionnaire, and the data analysis was conducted using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method. This study indicates that the four elements of entertainment, trendiness, customisation and word-of-mouth in social media marketing have statistically significant direct effects on the consumer-brand engagement in Ant Forest. In addition, gamification shows a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between customisation and consumer-brand engagement and a significant negative moderating effect on the relationship between trendiness and consumer-brand engagement in Ant Forest. This study adds gamification to the conceptual system of social media marketing and provides suggestions for the development of gamified social media marketing applications.

BACKGROUND: Cricothyrotomy is an invasive and rare emergency intervention to secure the airway in a \"cannot intubate, cannot ventilate\" situation. This leads to lack of routine. Cricothyrotomy is performed only hesitantly. Therefore, we aim to improve teaching by including a virtual reality (VR) cricothyrotomy as a learning tool.
METHODS: We programmed the VR cricothyrotomy in the C# programming language on the open-source Unity platform. We could include 149 students that we randomly assigned to either a study group (VR cricothyrotomy) or control group (educational video). We asked the study group to subjectively rate the VR cricothyrotomy. To evaluate our intervention (VR cricothyrotomy) we took the time participants needed to perform a cricothyrotomy on a plastic model of a trachea and evaluated the correct procedural steps.
RESULTS: The majority of students that performed the VR simulation agreed that they improved in speed (81%) and procedural steps (92%). All participants completed the cricothyrotomy in 47s ± 16s and reached a total score of 8.7 ± 0.7 of 9 possible points. We saw no significant difference in time needed to perform a cricothyrotomy between study and control group (p > 0.05). However, the total score of correct procedural steps was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality is an innovative learning tool to improve teaching of emergency procedures. The VR cricothyrotomy subjectively and objectively improved correct procedural steps. Digitized education fills an educational gap between pure haptic experience and theoretical knowledge. This is of great value when focusing on extension of factual knowledge.
BACKGROUND: DRKS00031736, registered on the 20th April 2023.

The fight against antibiotic resistance has become a true global public health challenge of gargantuan proportions. Amongst the myriad of approaches being explored to tackle this predicament, one strategy involves enhancing prescriber knowledge and in particular their basic knowledge of medical bacteriology. Yet, as we well know in medical microbiology teachings, traditional lectures can be arduous, attempting to cram in a vast array of information in a limited time. An alternative solution to improve student engagement and enhance learning outcomes is to utilize educational games in complementary approach. Such games are an effective means of inspiring students to learn, encouraging self-assessment, and injecting diversity into the teaching process. To this end, we have developed and evaluated an educational card game, the \'BacteriaGame,\' aimed at our medical students in medical bacteriology. Designed for students at the basic level, it serves as activity at the end of their apprenticeship to their bacteriology education. Additionally, it can also be used as a review tool by more advanced students, with teachers able to impart additional knowledge as the game progresses. We also use it in continuous training of medical laboratory staff. In this study, we evaluated the game at various stages of medical education, collecting feedback and analysing its impact on knowledge acquisition, comparing it to traditional lectures. Feedback from the majority of students revealed that the rules were clear, the game was enjoyable, and neither too lengthy nor too challenging. The integration of \'BacteriaGame\' into their future training piqued their interest. In terms of learning outcomes, we discovered a significant increase in knowledge acquisition among those who used the game (P < .05). \'BacteriaGame\' is now published by the French Society of Microbiology (SFM) and distributed in all medical and pharmacy schools thanks to a funding of the French Health Ministry. An English edition of the game is also available for international use as a physical copy to be purchased from the SFM. This will allow a large-scale distribution to colleagues who would like to use this game in their teaching.

BACKGROUND: Innovation and entrepreneurship training are increasingly recognized as being important in medical education. However, the lack of faculty comfort with the instruction of these concepts as well as limited scholarly recognition for this work has limited the implementation of curricula focused on these skills. Furthermore, this lack of familiarity limits the inclusion of practicing physicians in health care innovation, where their experience is valuable. Hackathons are intense innovation competitions that use gamification principles to increase comfort with creative thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal collaboration, but they require further exploration in medical innovation.
OBJECTIVE: To address this, we aimed to design, implement, and evaluate a health care hackathon with 2 main goals: to improve emergency physician familiarity with the principles of health care innovation and entrepreneurship and to develop innovative solutions to 3 discrete problems facing emergency medicine physicians and patients.
METHODS: We used previously described practices for conducting hackathons to develop and implement our hackathon (HackED!). We partnered with the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Stanford School of Biodesign, and the Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school) to lend institutional support and expertise in health care innovation to our event. We determined a location, time frame, and logistics for the competition and settled on 3 use cases for teams to work on. We planned to explore the learning experience of participants within a pragmatic paradigm and complete an abductive thematic analysis using data from a variety of sources.
RESULTS: HackED! took place from October 1-3, 2022. In all, 3 teams developed novel solutions to each of the use cases. Our investigation into the educational experience of participants suggested that the event was valuable and uncovered themes suggesting that the learning experience could be understood within a framework from entrepreneurship education not previously described in relation to hackathons.
CONCLUSIONS: Health care hackathons appear to be a viable method of increasing physician experience with innovation and entrepreneurship principles and addressing complex problems in health care. Hackathons should be considered as part of educational programs that focus on these concepts.

UNASSIGNED: Movement-based priming has been increasingly investigated to accelerate the effects of subsequent motor training. The feasibility and acceptability of this approach at home has not been studied. We developed a game-based priming system (DIG-I-PRIMETM) that engages the user in repeated ankle movements using serious games. We aimed to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary motor benefits of an 8-week remotely supervised telerehabilitation program utilizing game-based movement priming combined with functional lower limb motor training in chronic stroke survivors.
UNASSIGNED: Three individuals with stroke participated in a telerehabilitation program consisting of 20-min movement-based priming using the DIG-I-PRIMETM system followed by 30-min of lower limb motor training focusing on strength and balance. We evaluated feasibility using reported adverse events and compliance, and acceptability by assessing participant perception of the game-based training. Motor gains were assessed using the 10-m walk test and Functional Gait Assessment.
UNASSIGNED: All participants completed 24 remotely supervised training sessions without any adverse events. Participants reported high acceptability of the DIG-I-PRIMETM system, reflected by high scores on satisfaction, enjoyment, user-friendliness, and challenge aspects of the system. Participants reported overall satisfaction with our program. Post-training changes in the 10-m walk test (0.10-0.31 m/s) and Functional Gait Assessment (4-7 points) exceeded the minimal clinically important difference.
UNASSIGNED: Our results indicate that a remotely supervised game-based priming and functional lower limb exercise program is feasible and acceptable for stroke survivors to perform at home. Also, improved walking provides preliminary evidence of game-based priming to be beneficial as a telerehabilitation strategy for stroke motor recovery.

Gamification is a novel interventional approach to functional recovery and rehabilitation. We present a novel gamification rehabilitation case of a 38-year-old female referred to the physiotherapy department for post-distal radial fracture rehabilitation. She was managed with closed reduction and internal fixation (CRIF) using two Kirschner wires (K-wires) after falling on an outstretched hand in a road traffic accident with a two-wheeler. Gamification intervention was provided to the patient for four weeks. We used pre- and post-intervention outcome measures for pain, range of motion, grip strength, and hand function. There was a substantial improvement in all outcome measures after four weeks of gamification intervention.

BACKGROUND: Points represent one of the most widely used game mechanics in gamification. They have been used as a means to provide feedback to users. They visually show user performance and are used along with other game mechanics to produce synergy effects. However, using points without analyzing the application environment and targets adversely affects users.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify the problems that users encounter when points are applied improperly, to solve problems based on an analysis of previous studies and actual point use cases, and to develop a point design framework to deliver gameful experiences.
METHODS: Three problems were identified by analyzing previous studies. The first problem is points that only accumulate. The second is points that emphasize a user\'s difference from other people. The third pertains to the reward distribution problem that occurs when points are used as rewards.
RESULTS: We developed a framework by deriving 3 criteria for applying points. The first criterion is based on the passive acquisition approach and the active use approach. The second criterion is used to classify points as \"high/low\" and \"many/few\" types. The third criterion is the classification of personal reward points and group reward points based on segmentation of the reward criteria. We developed 8 types of points based on the derived point design framework.
CONCLUSIONS: We expect that some of the problems that users experience when using points can be solved. Furthermore, we expect that some of the problems that arise when points are used as rewards, such as pointsification and the overjustification effect, can be solved. By solving such problems, we suggest a direction that enables a gameful experience for point users and improves the core value delivery through gameful experiences. We also suggest a gameful experience delivery method in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.