Virtual escape room as a gamification strategy in active learning in nutrition

Authors

Keywords:

active learning; gamification; health education; higher education; motivation; nutrition

Abstract

Introduction: Higher education in health requires active methodologies that promote meaningful learning and professional skill development. Gamification through virtual escape rooms has been proposed as an innovative strategy to enhance student motivation and engagement.

Objective: To evaluate students' perception of the implementation of a virtual escape room as a gamification strategy in active learning in nutrition.

Methods: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 50 nutrition students from two cohorts (2024 and 2025). A structured questionnaire assessed usability, disciplinary integration, learning, and teacher support. Descriptive statistics, Student's t-test for independent samples and, for categorical variables, the chi-square or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate, were applied, with a significance level of p < 0.05.

Results: The 2025 cohort scored higher across all evaluated dimensions, with statistically significant differences in most items (p < 0.05): usability, active learning (motivation, dynamism, and student engagement), and teacher support. For disciplinary integration, the difference was significant for content application, whereas overall content coverage and digital skills did not reach significance.

Conclusions: The virtual escape room is perceived as a favorable gamification strategy to support active learning in nutrition students. Its implementation is associated with greater motivation, content integration, and competency development in health education.

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Published

2026-10-30

How to Cite

1.
Rodríguez Palleres X, Flores Subero JM, Acevedo Peña RD, Jeria Galleguillos CS. Virtual escape room as a gamification strategy in active learning in nutrition. Rev. cuba. med. mil [Internet]. 2026 Oct. 30 [cited 2026 Nov. 5];55(3 (Suplemento 1):e026077750. Available from: https://revmedmilitar.sld.cu/index.php/mil/article/view/77750

Issue

Vol. 55 No. 3 (Suplemento 1) (2026): Teaching in Health

Section

Research Article

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Copyright (c) 2026 Ximena Rodríguez Palleres, José Miguel Flores Subero, Roxana Desireé Acevedo Peña, Constanza Scarlett Jeria Galleguillos

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