Impact of Pharmatopia - A Digital Game-Based Learning Model- Towards Student Understanding and Perception in Solid Pharmaceutical Dosage Form Courses

Background and aim In Indonesia, the adoption of digital game-based education in pharmacy education is still limited. This study evaluates the impact of Pharmatopia, a digital game-based learning (GBL) developed by Monash University, on third-year pharmacy undergraduate students’ understanding and perceptions of solid pharmaceutical dosage form courses at Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Andalas. By exploring its effectiveness, we aim to address the gap in GBL adoption in Indonesian pharmacy education and provide recommendations for its integration. Intervention Students accessed Pharmatopia via the university’s Moodle platform, engaging in a one-hour autonomous activity simulating direct compression tablet manufacturing. A survey using a 5-point Likert scale was used to evaluate student perceptions of Pharmatopia in learning solid pharmaceutical dosage form design. Methods The study involved 120 students, with mixed methods to measure their understanding of tablet formulation optimization and excipient functionality. A sample of 27 students were asked to complete both pre-test and post-test assessments. Results between pre-test and post-test were analyzed using paired t test. Results and Discussion A Likert-scale survey revealed positive student perceptions with an average mean score of 4.4. Most students agree that Pharmatopia improved their understanding of tablet manufacturing and excipient roles and recommend its integration into the curriculum. Pre-test and post-test results showed improvement in average scores from 46% to 96% ( p < 0.05), indicating enhanced understanding of tablet formulation processes. Pharmatopia enhances pharmacy students’ understanding of tablet formulation and fosters positive perceptions of GBL. Qualitative feedback highlighted increases in engagement and motivation. Limitation of this study are limited prior exposure to digital learning tools and the absence of a control group. Recommendations include broader implementation of GBL in pharmacy education and further studies with control groups to validate efficacy.