Search

Mobile devices, as persuasive technologies, represent an important platform to promote changes in attitudes and behaviors. They are not only understood as tools, but as a learning process that provides different opportunities to learn how to learn. The objectives of the study were to measure the quality of a virtual mobile learning object, to measure the mental workload of the educational intervention, and to evaluate the learning results. This is a technological production study with a mixed method, quasi-experimental approach. Three simulated clinical scenarios comprise the m-OVADor @ , allowing for a simulated evaluation of acute pain through interactive tools. The technology met the quality criteria for educational software, with low mental workload, demonstrating a significant strategy for learning about pain among nursing students.

This study aimed to evaluate the results of the application of a virtual learning object for the simulated evaluation of acute pain in the learning of undergraduate nursing students and to verify the opinions of the students regarding the quality of the technology. This was a quasi-experimental, non-randomized, before and after study performed with 14 students in the seventh phase of the undergraduate nursing course of the Federal University of Santa Catarina. The pre (8.84) and post-test (9.31) means revealed significant differences in learning after the intervention (p=0.03). In the qualitative evaluation the flexibility of access, access independent of time/place, freedom to decide the best learning route and the similarity with reality were highlighted. It constitutes a promising educational tool, an interactive experience, similar to reality, dynamic and constructive learning. The application of the technology has brought positive results for learning about pain evaluation, contributing to fill the gap in the teaching of the thematic.

Background Thousands of patients seek health services every day with complaints of pain. However, adequate pain assessment is still flawed, a fact that is partly related to gaps in professional learning on this topic. Innovative strategies such as the use of a virtual learning object mediated by persuasive technology in the learning of undergraduate nursing students can help to fill these gaps and to provide different ways of learning to learn. Objective To evaluate the results in learning among undergraduate nursing students about assessment of acute pain in adults and newborns, before and after an online educational intervention. Design This is a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent study using pre-and post-testing. Setting Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Participants 75 undergraduate nursing students. Methods Our study was conducted in three steps (pre-test, education intervention, post-test). Data were collected from November 2013 to February 2014. The educational intervention was performed using online access to virtual learning object about acute pain assessment, which students accessed on their mobile devices. Conclusion A significant difference was seen in student learning (p < 0.001) in the post-test compared with the pre-test results. The students understood the importance of the topic, and were satisfied and motivated by the technology and method applied. The use of persuasive technology such as small mobile devices as mediators of online educational interventions broadens learning spaces in an innovative, flexible, motivational, and promising manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]