Educational escape Room and the perceptions of nursing students: experience report

Abstract

Introduction: Educational Escape Rooms (ER) are promising strategies to enhance learning among health science students. Objective: To report the experience of constructing and implementing an ER and highlight nursing students' perceptions. Methodology: This experience report was developed in stages: construction and implementation of an ER titled "Measures for the Prevention of Pressure Injury (PI) by the Nursing Team in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)." The activity was conducted in a realistic simulated scenario with a high-fidelity mannequin in the simulation lab of a public university in the Central-West Region of Brazil. The ER structure was based on the escapED framework. Implementation involved a thematic class and a simulated scenario on PI. During the evaluation stage, a structured debriefing was conducted to reflect on the simulated experience of PI, emphasizing collaborative work. Results: Eleven nursing students solved the puzzles and exited the ER within an average of 30 minutes. They reported a positive perception, classified as excellent, regarding the ER experience. When comparing pre- and post-ER responses, there was a significant increase in knowledge (p=0.001) and self-reported confidence (p=0015) on PI prevention measures. Conversely, the stress level remained unchanged. Final Considerations: Despite requiring logistics and a qualified team, the adopted strategy for ER construction and implementation contributed to improving self-perceived confidence and knowledge levels about PI prevention measures among nursing students.