Objective: As societies become more complex, disasters are increasing in frequency and magnitude. To respond to the psychological problems that may arise in such situations, it is necessary to develop the psychological first aid (PFA) training program that is more engaging for disaster relief workers and less limited in time and space. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a web-based PFA simulation game for disaster relief workers to provide to fire disaster victims.
Methods: This was a non-randomized controlled experimental study with 30 participants in the experimental and control groups. The experimental group learned through the web-based PFA simulation game developed in this study, and the control group was provided with written educational materials regarding general disaster. The effects of time between groups and interaction between groups were tested.
Results: Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significant effects on core competencies in disaster response, self-efficacy, and problem-solving process, and the persistence of the effects was also significantly different.
Conclusion: The web-based PFA simulation game was found to be effective in improving core competencies in disaster response, self-efficacy, and problem-solving process of disaster relief workers. These results suggest that simulation games can be an effective learning method for learning PFA for disaster relief workers. Since it is difficult to learn through direct participation in disaster situations, a web-based simulation game may be a more effective way to improve and maintain the competence of PFA.
Keywords: Web-based simulation education; disaster relief workers; disasters; psychological first aid; serious game.