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NCT Number: NCT06903533

The Effect of Puzzle Activity on Nursing Students' Willingness to Work With Older Adults and Gerontological Nursing Competence

The study will be conducted using a parallel-group randomized controlled experimental design to determine the effect of a puzzle activity on nursing students' willingness to work with older adults and their competence in gerontological nursing. The study population will consist of second-year students (N=243) enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing at a university. The sample of the study will include at least 86 nursing students, with 43 students in the puzzle group and 43 students in the control group. The research will be carried out between March 2025 and June 2025. In this study, data will be collected using the "Descriptive Information Form," the "Willingness to Work with Older People Scale," and the "Gerontological Nursing Competence Scale."

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Key information

Conditions

Puzzle Activity

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Gazi University

Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye)

About this study

The study will be conducted using a parallel-group randomized controlled experimental design to determine the effect of a puzzle activity on nursing students' willingness to work with older adults and their gerontological nursing competence. The study group will consist of second-year students (N=243) enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing at a university. The G*Power program was used to calculate the sample size. In the reference study (Kaynak, S., Ergün, S., & Karadaş, A. (2023). The effect of crossword puzzle activity used in distance education on nursing students' problem-solving and clinical decision-making skills: A comparative study. Nurse Education in Practice, 69, 103618), it was determined that at least 86 students (43+43) were needed, with α = 0.05, 80% power, and an effect size of 0.615.

After assigning the students to the intervention and control groups, a puzzle activity will be conducted with the intervention group following a lecture. In preparing the puzzles, the researchers will use free online puzzle-making tools (e.g., https://crosswordlabs.com/). The puzzles will include questions related to basic knowledge and concepts concerning gerontological nursing competence. During the puzzle-solving process, the researcher will be present in the classroom and provide guidance to students when needed. After students complete the puzzles, the researcher will project the puzzle on the presentation screen and evaluate the answers through interactive discussion with the students. Upon completion of each puzzle, the researcher will collect the puzzles from the students to prevent contamination between the intervention and control groups. A post-test will be administered to students at the end of the puzzle activity.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • • Being a second-year nursing student
  • Volunteering to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

Not taking the Geriatric Health Nursing course

  • Having difficulty in understanding and speaking Turkish
  • Incomplete or incorrectly answered data collection tools
  • Willingness to withdraw from the study voluntarily

Treatment and study plan

Puzzle Activity

Other

After assigning the students to the intervention and control groups, a puzzle activity will be conducted with the intervention group following a lecture. In preparing the puzzles, the researchers will use free online puzzle-making tools (e.g., https://crosswordlabs.com/). The puzzles will include questions related to basic knowledge and concepts concerning gerontological nursing competence. During the puzzle-solving process, the researcher will be present in the classroom and provide guidance to students when needed. After students complete the puzzles, the researcher will project the puzzle on the presentation screen and evaluate the answers through interactive discussion with the students. Upon completion of each puzzle, the researcher will collect the puzzles from the students to prevent contamination between the intervention and control groups. A post-test will be administered to students at the end of the puzzle activity.

Primary outcomes

  1. Willingness to Work with Older People Scale

    Time frame: Baseline

    The scale was developed by Fadayevatan and colleagues (2018) to determine medical students' willingness to work with older adults. The Turkish validity and reliability of the scale were conducted by Akpınar Söylemez and colleagues (2022) with nursing and medical students The scale consists of 4 sub-dimensions and 20 items. The scale is a six-point Likert-type scale, where items are scored from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree. The minimum score that can be obtained from the scale is 20, and the maximum score is 120. Scores for each sub-dimension and a total score are calculated. Higher scores indicate a greater willingness to work with older adults

  2. Willingness to Work with Older People Scale

    Time frame: At the end of the third week,

    The scale was developed by Fadayevatan and colleagues (2018) to determine medical students' willingness to work with older adults. The Turkish validity and reliability of the scale were conducted by Akpınar Söylemez and colleagues (2022) with nursing and medical students The scale consists of 4 sub-dimensions and 20 items. The scale is a six-point Likert-type scale, where items are scored from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree. The minimum score that can be obtained from the scale is 20, and the maximum score is 120. Scores for each sub-dimension and a total score are calculated. Higher scores indicate a greater willingness to work with older adults

  3. Gerontological Nursing Competence Scale

    Time frame: Baseline

    The scale was developed by Tohmola et al. (2021) to measure nursing students' competencies in geriatric care. The Turkish validity and reliability study was conducted by Aslan et al. (2024). The scale consists of 53 items and 11 subdimensions. The scale is a 4-point Likert-type scale and is rated as follows:1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Partially Disagree, 3 = Partially Agree, 4 = Strongly Agree. The minimum score that can be obtained from the scale is 53, and the maximum score is 212. As the level of competence increases, the score obtained from the scale also increases

  4. Gerontological Nursing Competence Scale

    Time frame: At the end of the third week,

    The scale was developed by Tohmola et al. (2021) to measure nursing students' competencies in geriatric care. The Turkish validity and reliability study was conducted by Aslan et al. (2024). The scale consists of 53 items and 11 subdimensions. The scale is a 4-point Likert-type scale and is rated as follows:1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Partially Disagree, 3 = Partially Agree, 4 = Strongly Agree. The minimum score that can be obtained from the scale is 53, and the maximum score is 212. As the level of competence increases, the score obtained from the scale also increases

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Gazi University

Other

Registry information

Acronym: Puzzle

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Mar 30, 2025
Registry last updated
Sep 17, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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