Using a Serious Game as an Elicitation Tool in Interview Research:Reflections on Methodology

It can be difficult understand the process of making decisions in healthcare, because of both the complexity of healthcare systems and the demands faced by healthcare professionals. Serious games offer an underexplored opportunity to elicit data about decision making. In this article, we present and reflect on a methodological case study where we used a serious game as part of a semi-structured interview to study the process of decision making. The game Resilience Challenge presented a patient’s journey through a hospital, where a player had to make decisions that influenced patient care. The game was used during interviews with 20 nurses, both in person and remotely. Having a mini-debrief with a participant after each game scenario provide to be a helpful technique to understand the participants’ decision-making process and elicit tacit knowledge about their work. Serious games show promise as a methodological research tool to elicit the process of decision-making among healthcare professionals.