AntibioGame®: A serious game for teaching medical students about antibiotic use

Introduction: Measures for controlling antimicrobial resistance are urgently required. We describe here AntibioGame (R), a serious game for improving the training of medical students in antibiotic use in primary care. Objective: We aimed to design a serious game for antibiotics teaching and to evaluate its usability and playability by medical students. Methods: We used various gamification techniques (e.g. use of mascots, avatars, rewards, leader board) and cartoon graphics in the design of AntibioGame (R). This game implements clinical case templates built from a list of learning goals defined by a medical team through an analysis of clinical practice guidelines. The game was evaluated by asking medical students to rate their satisfaction and the usability and playability of the game on an electronic form and through group discussions. The electronic form was derived from the MEEGA + scale, a fivepoint Likert scale including 32 items for assessing both usability and playability. Results: AntibioGame (R) is a case-based game in which students play the role of a doctor meeting patients in consultation and helping other health professionals to solve their problems, as in real life. The scenarios are realistic and cover situations frequently encountered in primary care. The 57 medical students enrolled found the game attractive, usable, fun, and appropriate for learning. Game quality was considered "good" (score = 60 on the MEEGA + scale). All the students said they would recommend the game, 96 % liked it and 81 % would use it for revision. Conclusion: AntibioGame (R) is a promising tool for improving knowledge in antibiotic prescription that could easily be included in multifaceted programs for training medical students.