Background: Digital educational technologies in health have been an important instrument for promoting learning, self-care, self-esteem, and security regarding prevention and health promotion actions that lead to changes in behavior, mainly for non-communicable disease patients, such as type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM 2). Objective: This study aimed to describe a protocol for evaluating the effect of an app for cell phones and tablets on the blood glucose of older adults with DM 2. Methods: The protocol will be used to compare the effectiveness of an application for mobile devices concerning the educational booklet in reducing Glycated Hemoglobin in older adults with DM 2 in Primary Health Care. This protocol is part of a Randomized Clinical Trial project entitled Effectiveness of a Mobile Device Application on Glycated Hemoglobin in Elderly People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a Randomized Clinical Trial. Results: The protocol was structured in the following phases: (i) sample calculation, (ii) invitation to participate in the study according to the eligibility criteria; (iii) participant registration; (iv) randomization and allocation of participants into groups (double blinding); (v) application of the intervention; (vi) post-intervention procedures (post-test); (vii) data analysis. Conclusion: It is expected that encouraging studies on the impact of a mobile application will improve and enhance health education focused on self-care for older adults with DM 2, potentially influencing the local health system by reducing hospitalizations due to conditions that are sensitive to primary care, since health promotion and prevention of DM-related illnesses will be the main focus of the application and booklet developed.

Background: Population aging underlines the critical need to improve health professional training to adequately care for adults aged >60 years. Developing educational resources to support academics and professionals presents a valuable opportunity to enhance understanding of health conditions and improve clinical management. Serious games are designed to develop teaching, training, and learning skills. Their use in the educational setting is warranted, as they integrate digital aspects and gamification to create a playful experience for content acquisition. Deepening this theme in nursing education will improve assistance to the older adult population, leading to more qualified care based on gerontological practices and comprehensive health care for older adults. Objective: This study aims to develop and validate a serious game on older adult health for undergraduate nursing students. Methods: This quantitative and descriptive methodological study, conducted between February 2023 and December 2023 at a public university in the Federal District of Brazil, involved the active participation of 27 undergraduate nursing students in their eighth to tenth semesters. The game, Health Unit in Focus (HUF), was developed and validated with their input. It features 75 clinical cases distributed across 3 themes: pharmacology, metabolic syndrome, and semiology. Of the 40 students initially enrolled, 27 completed the study. The app was validated using the System Usability Scale and student feedback, and the results were reported following the Game-Based Intervention Reporting Guidelines (GAMING). Results: The participants had a mean age of 22.67 (SD 1.44) years, were mostly female (20/27, 74%), and were in their eighth semester (26/27, 96%). The game received an average System Usability Scale score of 85.75 (median 86.57), classified as excellent, as all evaluated items scored >75. Participants considered the game easy to use; accessible; practical; and rich in well-founded, useful content. This high usability score, coupled with the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the students, instills confidence in the game’s effectiveness. Furthermore, 100% (27/27) of students agreed that learning through games is effective and expressed interest in incorporating more interactive games into their training. The serious game HUF showed good usability, as its overall score was “excellent,” with its highest score in the odd-numbered items that addressed the positive aspects identified in the analysis. Conclusions: The serious game HUF is not just a valid and reliable tool for training nursing students but also an engaging and interactive approach to learning. Its ability to captivate and involve students in the learning process is a testament to its potential to revolutionize nursing education. It is essential that the development of new methodological resources, such as serious games, be based on scientific evidence to guarantee greater reliability and success in achieving their established objectives.

The objective was to develop and validate an educational technology (ET) for self-care for elderly people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated in primary health care. A methodological development study was carried out with the preparation of a printed ET validated by 33 expert judges and 41 elderly people who met the healthy functional class criteria of the Brazilian Diabetes Society. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was considered equal to or greater than 0.80 in the objective blocks, content, language, relevance, illustrations, layout, motivation and culture. The ET entitled “Booklet for elderly people on self-care in Diabetes Mellitus”, with 28 pages, presents Nurse Dora teaching self-care through guidance and games. It was validated by the judges with an overall CVI of 0.88 and by the target audience with a CVI of 0.97. The ET went through the entire methodological process with due scientific rigor, being validated by professionals and the target audience, allowing its use to support educational practices to promote self-care for elderly people.

BACKGROUND Population aging underlines the critical need for improving health professional training to adequately care for older adults (over 60 years old). OBJECTIVE Develop and validate a serious game on older adult health for undergraduate nursing students. METHODS This quantitative and descriptive methodological study, conducted between February and December 2023 at a public university in the Federal District, involved the active participation of 27 8th-year undergraduate nursing students. The game, 'Unidade de Saúde em Foco' ('Health Unit in Focus'), was developed and validated with their input. It features 75 clinical cases distributed across three themes: pharmacology, metabolic syndrome, and semiology. The application was validated using the SUS, and the students' feedback. RESULTS Of the 40 students initially enrolled, 27 completed the study. The game received an average SUS score of 85.75 (median: 86.57), classified as excellent—all evaluated items scored above 75. Participants considered the game easy to use, accessible, practical, and rich in well-founded, useful content. This high usability score, coupled with the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the students who found the game easy to use, accessible, practical, and rich in well-founded, useful content, instills confidence in the game's effectiveness. Furthermore, 100% of students agreed that learning through games is effective and expressed interest in incorporating more interactive games into their training. CONCLUSIONS The Serious Game' Unidade de Saúde em Foco' ('Health Unit in Focus') is not just a valid and reliable tool for training nursing students, but also an engaging and interactive approach to learning. Its ability to captivate and involve students in the learning process is a testament to its potential to revolutionize nursing education.

Keywords: hypertension; medication adherence; mobile applications

O envelhecimento populacional e a alta prevalência de diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2) entre pessoas idosas desafiam a Atenção Primária à Saúde na promoção do autocuidado. Este ensaio clínico randomizado avaliou a efetividade de um aplicativo móvel educativo, em comparação com uma cartilha impressa, na ampliação do conhecimento sobre DM2 entre pessoas idosas acompanhadas na Atenção Primária. Participaram 32 pessoas idosas com a patologia, alocadas em grupo intervenção (n=16) e controle (n=16), com acompanhamento por 12 semanas em Unidades Básicas de Saúde do Distrito Federal. O conhecimento sobre diabetes foi mensurado antes e após a intervenção pela Escala de Conhecimento no Diabetes (DKN-A). O grupo intervenção apresentou aumento estatisticamente significativo no escore pós-intervenção (p<0,001), com grande tamanho de efeito (ES=1,16). O grupo controle também apresentou melhora significativa (p = 0,005), porém com menor magnitude de efeito (ES = 0,54). Apesar da comparação intergrupos no pós-teste não ter atingido significância estatística (p = 0,098), a magnitude do efeito sugere um possível benefício clínico do uso do aplicativo móvel. Esses achados indicam que a tecnologia móvel educativa pode representar uma ferramenta promissora para a educação em saúde e para a ampliação do conhecimento sobre DM2 na Atenção Primária. Palavras-chave: Pessoas Idosas. Conhecimento. Educação em Saúde. Saúde Móvel. Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2.