Effectiveness of a gamified educational intervention on hand hygiene among Nursing professionals: a quasi-experimental studyObjective: to assess the effectiveness of a gamified educational intervention on proper execution of the hand hygiene technique among nurses and nursing technicians in hospitalization units.
Method: this quasi-experimental study of the before-and-after type was conducted with 45 Nursing professionals. The data were collected by means of a structured form to observe the technique before and after the intervention. The statistical data analysis was performed using Wilcoxon’s Signed-Rank test and the McNemar test.
Results: in the pre-intervention period, 61.3% of the technicians and 42.9% of the nurses failed to follow all the technique steps; after the gamification, 100% of the nurses and 97.7% of the nursing technicians did implement the right steps (p<0.001) and forgot fewer stages (z=-4.532, p<0.001, r=0.81). The time to perform the technique was also adequate after the intervention, following the recommendations set forth by the World Health Organization (z=-2.441, p=0.015, r=0.36).
Conclusion: the gamified educational intervention was effective in proper execution of the hand hygiene technique among nurses and nursing technicians, reducing errors and increasing compliance with the international guidelines.
Descriptors:
Hand Disinfection; Nursing Team; Gamification; Health Education; Education; Infection Control.
(1) Gamification increased adherence to hand hygiene among Nursing professionals. (2) Gamification proved to exert a positive impact on learning and adherence to the technique. (3) There was a significant reduction in the number of stages forgotten during hand hygiene procedures. (4) Product distribution on the hands was more uniform after the intervention. (5) The time to perform the technique was adequate after the educational intervention.
