Open to educational games, but cautious about gaming
Digital Game-Based Learning Opens Up New Perspectives for Teaching in Public Health
In medicine and nursing, digital educational games have long been part of the repertoire; in public health programs, however, they are rarely used. A new study by the Chair of Digital Public Health at the University of Siegen, in collaboration with the University of Bielefeld, shows that students are quite open to them. Their expectations, however, have little to do with gaming.
Between January 2021 and March 2024, 326 students in health-related degree programs completed the questionnaire in full. Recruitment took place at four universities, including the University of Siegen, supplemented by calls for participants on social media. About 72% can imagine working with digital educational games in the future. Modules such as prevention and health promotion (85%), epidemiology and statistics (83%), and public health (77%) are considered particularly suitable—especially for exam preparation, assessing knowledge, and illustrating complex content.
Elaborate game mechanics, on the other hand, are not high on the wish list. Less than 2% of respondents chose VR or AR headsets and consoles; 3D graphics, avatars, and multiplayer modes are considered secondary. More important are ease of use, clear feedback, technical reliability (91.7%), and the ability to learn anytime and anywhere (94.2%). The mentioned framework conditions also tend to be rather unspectacular. A functioning technical infrastructure (98.5%), media-literate teachers (95.4%), and compliance with data protection (93%) rank higher than any game feature.
This aligns with the respondents’ technological profile. Enthusiasm for technology scores the lowest of all subscales, while technology-related fears are comparatively high. To date, only about 6% have used educational games at all. The team of authors therefore advocates for low-threshold, pedagogically integrated applications that complement rather than replace in-person instruction. One student summarized this in the open-ended responses as a call for “soft digitalization” rather than “hard digitalization.”
