PERCEPTIONS AND IMPACT OF A BRAIN GAME ON COGNITIVE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE HEALTH AND MEDICAL STUDENTS AT KING ABDULAZIZ UNIVERSITY
Abstract
Background: With the advent of mobile apps, there has been a surge of interactive applications for consumers, whether educational or for entertainment. 'Brain games' is a concept delivered through these apps. Usually, these are more geared towards entertainment while including an informative element.
Objectives: This study was designed to determine the perceptions of BTG among medical and rehabilitation students. It also determined if BTG has effects on academic performance of students. Association between GPA and those who tried and not tried BTG before and also between GPA and how often students played BTG were also found.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. The study included 221 male and female participants of 19-26 years of age who were undergraduate health and medical students at King Abdulaziz university. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23.
Results: 70.6% participants (n=156) answered yes and 29.4% participants (n=65) answered no when asked if they have ever heard about BTG. 36.7% participants (n=81) answered yes and 63.3% participants (n=140) answered no when asked if they have ever tried BTG before. 16.3% participants (n=36) answered yes and 20.4% participants (n=45) answered no when asked if BTG has some effects on their academic performance. 20.8% participants (n=46) answered yes and 15.8% participants (n=35) answered no when asked if they noticed any improvement in cognitive skills. Non-significant association was found (p>0.05) between GPA and those who tried BTG before and not tried BTG before. Significant association (p<0.05) between GPA and how often you play BTG was found using chi-square test.
Conclusion: The study concluded that most students were aware of BTG but they had never tried it before. There was a non-significant association between GPA and those who tried BTG before and not tried BTG before. Significant association was found between GPA and how often you play BTG.
