The effects of serious game on cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and education：Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials (Preprint)

Abstract

Serious games have emerged as an innovative educational strategy with the potential to significantly enhance the quality and effectiveness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. Despite their promise, there remains a degree of controversy when comparing the advantages of serious games with traditional CPR training methods. This study seeks to provide a comprehensive assessment of the impact of serious games on CPR training and education by systematically analyzing the results of previous research.

This study aimed to assess the effect of serious games on CPR training and education by summarizing and pooling the results of previous studies.

A thorough and systematic search was conducted across nine prominent online databases, encompassing the period from the inception of these databases until April 2023. The databases included in our search were PubMed, Cochrane Library, Wiley Online Library, EBSCO (PsycInfo), SpringerLink, Chinese Biology Medicine Disc, Vip Journal Integration Platform, Wanfang Database, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure. To assess the risk of bias, two independent authors utilized the Cochrane Risk of Bias in Randomized Trials tool. Data analysis was performed using RevMan software (version 5.3), and the quality of evidence for outcome indicators was determined using the GRADEpro GDT online tool. Our meta-analysis comprised a total of 791 participants, drawn from nine carefully selected studies.

The results of our meta-analysis indicate that the use of serious games in CPR training yields outcomes that are comparable in effectiveness to traditional training methods across several key areas. Specifically, serious games demonstrated equivalence to traditional formats in theory assessment (SMD -0.22; 95% CI -0.96 to 0.51; P = 0.55), skill assessment (SMD -0.49; 95% CI -1.52 to 0.55; P = 0.36), compression depth (MD -3.17; 95% CI -0.18 to 6.53; P = 0.06), and compression rate (MD -0.20; 95% CI -7.29 to 6.89; P = 0.96).

In summary, our findings suggest that serious games represent a viable and effective approach to CPR education. This educational modality produces results on par with traditional training formats, making it a valuable addition to the arsenal of CPR training methodologies.

PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42023423089; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=423089