The Effect of Situation Puzzle Games on Nursing Students' Death Anxiety and Meaning in Life

China Medical University, China70 enrolled

Overview

Goal of this interventional study The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of a scenario-based puzzle educational game on death anxiety and meaning in life among nursing students. It aims to answer the following key questions: Can the scenario-based puzzle educational game enhance nursing students' sense of meaning in life? Can the scenario-based puzzle educational game reduce death anxiety in nursing students? What are nursing students' experiences and perceptions of this educational game? Study design Researchers will compare the intervention group (participating in the game) with a control group (receiving death education manuals) to evaluate the effectiveness of the game-based intervention. Participants will: Be recruited through campus posters Be randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group and complete baseline questionnaires In the control group: Receive death education manuals twice weekly for 3 weeks In the intervention group: Participate in group sessions (5 students per group) to play the scenario-based puzzle game twice weekly for 3 weeks Complete follow-up questionnaires and participate in qualitative interviews regarding their experiences with manual-based education or the game intervention after the 3-week intervention period

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Death Anxiety

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 MonthsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Third-year full-time undergraduate nursing students * Completed clinical observation training but not yet entered clinical internship phase * Aged ≥18 years * Provide informed consent and voluntarily participate in the study Exclusion Criteria: * Participated in similar death education interventions within the past 3 months * Diagnosed with severe mental or psychological disorders * Currently on a leave of absence (academic or personal)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Death Anxiety

A 15-item self-report scale developed by psychologist Templer (1967/1970) measuring death-related distress. Dimensions: Affective (Items 1,3,10,13,14), Stress/Pain (Items 4,5,6,9,11), Time Awareness (Items 8,12), Cognitive (Items 2,7,15) Scoring: Dichotomous (Yes/No) with 9 forward-scored and 6 reverse-scored items (Items 2,3,5,6,7,16\*). Total score range: 0-15 (higher = greater anxiety). Reliability: Test-retest reliability (3-week) = 0.83; KR-20 = 0.76 (original English version).

Time frame: Week 0, Week 3

Meaning in Life

A 10-item scale (Steger et al.) assessing two dimensions: Presence of Meaning (5 items): Perceived life purpose Search for Meaning (5 items): Active pursuit of meaning Scoring: 7-point Likert (1="Strongly Disagree" to 7="Strongly Agree"). Higher scores indicate stronger meaning. Reliability: Cronbach's α = 0.878 (total), 0.850 (Presence), 0.907 (Search)