The Effect of Creative Drama Education on Nursing Students' Reflective Thinking and Clinical Decision-Making: A Mixed-Methods Study

NCT07750652 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: AGRSABFTKS003
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 77
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This randomized controlled mixed-methods study evaluated the effect of creative drama education on nursing students' reflective thinking and clinical decision-making skills. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving creative drama education (n = 40) or a control group participating in case-based discussion sessions (n = 37). Quantitative data were collected before and after the intervention using validated measurement instruments. Following completion of the intervention, qualitative interviews were conducted with participants from the experimental group to explore their learning experiences and provide a deeper explanation of the quantitative findings.

Conditions

NURSİNG EDUCATİON; Nursing Students; Clinical Decision-Making in Nursing; Reflective Thinking; Creative Drama

Keywords

NURSING EDUCATION; Nursing Students; Clinical Decision-Making; creative drama; Reflective thinking

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Reflective Thinking

  Change in reflective thinking scores measured from baseline to immediately after completion of the educational intervention using a validated reflective thinking scale.

  Baseline and immediately after the intervention.

• Clinical Decision-Making

  Change in clinical decision-making scores measured from baseline to immediately after completion of the educational intervention using a validated clinical decision-making scale.

  Baseline and immediately after the intervention.

Study Arms (2)

Creative Drama-Based Training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received structured creative drama education designed to improve reflective thinking and clinical decision-making through experiential learning, role-playing, improvisation, and group reflection.

Behavioral: Creative Drama-Based Trainning

Case-Based Discussion

OTHER

Participants received instructor-guided case discussion sessions covering the same educational objectives using conventional teaching methods.

Behavioral: Case-Based Discussion

Interventions

Creative Drama-Based Trainning BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the experimental group received a structured creative drama education program designed to enhance reflective thinking and clinical decision-making skills. The intervention consisted of interactive sessions incorporating warm-up activities, improvisation, role-playing, group enactment of realistic nursing scenarios, reflection, and group discussion. Students actively explored clinical situations by assuming different roles, analyzing patient care problems, and reflecting on their experiences throughout the drama process. The educational content was standardized and delivered by the same instructor using a predefined creative drama program.

Creative Drama-Based Training

Case-Based Discussion BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the control group received conventional case-based discussion sessions covering the same learning objectives as the experimental group. The sessions included instructor-guided analysis of written clinical cases, question-and-answer activities, and group discussions without the use of creative drama techniques or experiential role-play.

Case-Based Discussion

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Undergraduate fourth-year nursing students enrolled in the nursing program.
• Aged 18 years or older.
• Able to communicate in Turkish.
• Available to attend all scheduled educational sessions.

You may not qualify if:

• Previous participation in formal creative drama training related to nursing education.
• Failure to attend one or more educational sessions.
• Withdrawal from the study at any stage.
• Incomplete completion of the study questionnaires (pre-test or post-test).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Agri Ibrahim Cecen University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Agri Ibrahim Cecen University

Ağrı, Merkez, 04100, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: TKSOLAK

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 3, 2026
• First Posted: August 6, 2026
• Study Start: June 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: June 30, 2025
• Study Completion: June 30, 2025
• Last Updated: August 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)