Analysis of different gamification-based teaching resources for physiotherapy students: a comparative study

BACKGROUND: For health professionals, gamification is a new teaching method that has achieved an important role in recent years, with excellent results in learning and knowledge acquisition. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze the gaming experience through different gamification resources in the classroom with physiotherapy students. METHODS: A comparative study on gamification-based teaching resources was carried out during the first semester of the 2021–2022 academic year. A total of 33 physiotherapy students participated in this study. After the theoretical topics were taught, the participants were invited to participate in different gamification resources such as Kahoot!, Physiotherapy Party and Escape Room. The gaming experience with the different gamification resources was measured with the GAMEX scale. RESULTS: The Physiotherapy Party showed a higher score in relation to the enjoyment dimension compared to the Kahoot! and Escape Room (p = 0.004). The Escape Room presented higher scores in absorption, creative thinking, activation and dominance compared to Kahoot! and Physiotherapy Party (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Gamification resources promote enjoyment and creativity in the students in the classroom. The use of new teaching methods based on gamification, such as Escape Room as Physiotherapy Party should be considered as first choice in the use of gamification resources due to the benefits they bring to students. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-023-04576-8.