Abstract

With the advent of aging societies, fall-related injuries among older adults have emerged as a critical public health challenge. Conventional fall prevention education has predominantly relied on traditional, lecture-based approaches, which exhibit limited effectiveness in engaging older adult learners and facilitating knowledge retention. This study developed a card-based, gamified educational tool for fall prevention among older adults, grounded in Atkinson-Shiffrin's Multi-Store Model of Memory, Dual Coding Theory, and Cognitive Load Theory. To evaluate immediate educational efficacy, a between-subjects posttest-only comparative design was employed. An experimental group (A) receiving card-based gamified instruction was compared with a control group (B) receiving traditional lecture-based education. The study included 18 participants aged 65 years and older. Educational outcomes were assessed using a fall prevention knowledge test and the RIMMS-12 scale, an ARCS-based measure of Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. Results demonstrated that the card-based gamified group achieved significantly higher total RIMMS-12 scores compared to the traditional lecture group (A: 51.44±3.50, B: 38.22±4.43, t=7.02, p<.001). Furthermore, the card-based group significantly outperformed the lecture group across all four RIMMS subscales (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction) and demonstrated superior performance on the knowledge assessment (Welch's t=2.88, p=.0145, Hedges' g=1.29). These results indicate higher immediate posttest motivational and knowledge scores for the gamified approach, rather than definitive overall educational superiority. These findings suggest that interactive, game-based educational approaches may improve immediate learning outcomes among older adults. As this was a small-scale, posttest-only comparative experiment, the findings should be interpreted as preliminary evidence and verified in larger studies with follow-up assessments. This study is expected to contribute to the development of effective safety education content for older adult populations.