Teaching Health Insurance and Patient Barriers Through an Interprofessional Escape Room for Preclinical Medical and Health Professional Students
4 affiliations
- 1Medical Student, Department of Medicine, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University
- 2Graduate Student, Department of Social Work, Quinnipiac University
- 3Director of the Primary Care Clerkship, Department of Medicine, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University
- 4Assistant Dean for the Foundational Science Curriculum, Department of Medicine, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University
Abstract
Introduction: Health insurance is a crucial component of patient care, yet current medical education lacks adequate formal training in this subject matter. Escape rooms, a novel educational modality, have been shown to strengthen knowledge across diverse medical topics but have not yet been used in the context of health insurance education.
Methods: We created a 2-part event that combined an informative 1-hour lecture session with 3 interactive patient case-based escape rooms to navigate the complexities of health insurance. Preclinical first- and second-year medical students and other health professional students completed a preevent survey to assess baseline knowledge and self-efficacy, with follow-up surveys administered 4 months post event to assess long-term retention of knowledge and self-efficacy.
Results: Twenty-nine preclinical medical and health professional students participated. The intervention was feasible and well received by learners, with 100% of respondents reporting opportunities for interprofessional teamwork and problem solving, and 93% noting improved understanding of other health professionals’ roles. At 4 months, all participants reported significantly greater self-efficacy in their ability to address health insurance-related challenges (MD = 6; SD = 3.67; P < .01), though knowledge scores did not significantly improve from baseline (MD = 1.17; SD = 2.38; P = .06).
Discussion: This pilot intervention demonstrates the feasibility of using escape rooms for health insurance education and highlights the modality's potential to promote teamwork and learner confidence. Future iterations should include spaced repetition of key concepts and longitudinal reinforcement to optimize knowledge retention. Additional research is warranted to evaluate the impacts on physician practice and patient outcomes.
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BibTeX
@article{devkota2026teaching,
title = {{Teaching Health Insurance and Patient Barriers Through an Interprofessional Escape Room for Preclinical Medical and Health Professional Students}},
author = {Kriti Devkota and Rachel Schlak and Lia Spencer and Sar Kass and Khuram Ghumman and Douglas McHugh},
journal = {MedEdPORTAL : the journal of teaching and learning resources},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11647},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13720544},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Teaching Health Insurance and Patient Barriers Through an Interprofessional Escape Room for Preclinical Medical and Health Professional Students
AU - Kriti Devkota
AU - Rachel Schlak
AU - Lia Spencer
AU - Sar Kass
AU - Khuram Ghumman
AU - Douglas McHugh
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - MedEdPORTAL : the journal of teaching and learning resources
DO - 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11647
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13720544
AB - Introduction: Health insurance is a crucial component of patient care, yet current medical education lacks adequate formal training in this subject matter. Escape rooms, a novel educational modality, have been shown to strengthen knowledge across diverse medical topics but have not yet been used in the context of health insurance education. Methods: We created a 2-part event that combined an informative 1-hour lecture session with 3 interactive patient case-based escape rooms to navigate the complexities of health insurance. Preclinical first- and second-year medical students and other health professional students completed a preevent survey to assess baseline knowledge and self-efficacy, with follow-up surveys administered 4 months post event to assess long-term retention of knowledge and self-efficacy. Results: Twenty-nine preclinical medical and health professional students participated. The intervention was feasible and well received by learners, with 100% of respondents reporting opportunities for interprofessional teamwork and problem solving, and 93% noting improved understanding of other health professionals’ roles. At 4 months, all participants reported significantly greater self-efficacy in their ability to address health insurance-related challenges (MD = 6; SD = 3.67; P < .01), though knowledge scores did not significantly improve from baseline (MD = 1.17; SD = 2.38; P = .06). Discussion: This pilot intervention demonstrates the feasibility of using escape rooms for health insurance education and highlights the modality's potential to promote teamwork and learner confidence. Future iterations should include spaced repetition of key concepts and longitudinal reinforcement to optimize knowledge retention. Additional research is warranted to evaluate the impacts on physician practice and patient outcomes.
SN - 2374-8265
ER -