Effectiveness of gaming in creating cultural awareness

Despite the emphasis on cultural competency education in the United States for the past three decades, inequities and disparities in healthcare continue to persist, particularly among minority populations. With the current growing gap in provider and patient cultural congruence, how effectively we train students to work with diverse populations in healthcare settings warrants attention. This article presents the results of a qualitative study on the effectiveness of experiential learning, in the form of the game BaFa' BaFa', in raising cultural awareness among students of health professions. Using thematic analysis, the authors analyzed written reflections from student participants. The findings support earlier studies, conducted mainly outside of healthcare, on the effectiveness of gaming in nurturing cultural awareness.