Keywords
Sistema único de salud
Atención primaria de salud
Gamificación
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Abstract
Objective: To describe the conception, structured pedagogical design, and implementation of a gamification-based activity using a fictional municipality to teach the principles of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) and the attributes of Primary Health Care (PHC) in undergraduate medical education, as well as to analyze the perceptions of the teacher-researcher arising from its implementation. Experience report: The activity was conducted in the second semester of a mandatory medical course, involving 29 students. Despite prior exposure to SUS and PHC content, students demonstrated predominantly declarative knowledge with difficulty applying principles in practical contexts. The intervention was structured through a fictional narrative, roleplay, dialogical mediation, and a point-based system with immediate feedback. Through open-ended questioning, students identified and applied SUS principles and PHC attributes within the simulated municipal setting, showing qualitative progression toward more concrete and contextualized examples. In the reflective journal, the teacher-researcher noted increased engagement, greater argumentative depth over the course of the activity, and a possible novelty effect influencing participation. Final considerations: The experience suggests that integrating narrative, dialogical problematization, and structured gamification may facilitate the transition from memorized knowledge to contextualized application in theoretical settings.
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