Gamified innovations to teach social determinants of health in medical school

Introduction Teaching social determinants of health (SDH) is critical for medical students to integrate patient contexts in delivering patient-centred care. Students' propensity to focus on clinical sciences pose challenges to teach SDH in a relevant and engaging manner. To address these, the Medicine in Context program of Western Sydney University School of Medicine utilises innovative gamification techniques to teach SDH. Methods Using experiential learninga and gamificationb principles, workshops were created to teach patient disadvantages and social capital respectively. Disadvantages are taught using a Treasure Hunt. Student groups compete for the most 'hidden treasure' while enduring allocated disadvantages which reflect lived experiences of local communities. Debriefs introduce concepts of intersectionality, intergenerational disadvantages, and strengths-based approach, and encourage reflection of students' emotions during the game. Social capital is taught using Choose Your Own Adventure game where students assist in making health-seeking decisions for two fictional patients to ensure the best health outcomes. Intermittently, students are given a set of Escape Room hurdle tasks requi ring the use of social capital in their group. Students debrief about links between social capital, inequities and healthcare access. Both workshops are evaluated with mixed methods for effectiveness and acceptability. Results/Evaluation Evaluation for both workshops consistently indicate that gamification and experiential learning improved student experience, learning and retention. Students provided positive feedback and attributed the games to increasing their SDH understanding. Students also suggested the use of gamification in other parts of the medical curriculum. Discussion Gamification increased engagement and enhanced cognitive and affective learning domains. The innovations engaged students and promoted the effective integration of complex SDH topics with clinical practice in ways that lectures could not achieve. The workshops utilised minimal technology and were low-cost, therefore adaptable to health professional educators with limited resources, and were successfully adapted for online delivery during COVID restrictions.