1Laboratory of Sciences and Technologies of Information and Education, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco
2Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques, Agadir, Morocco
3Higher Institute of Nursing Professions and Health Techniques, Laayoune, Morocco
© 2024 Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Authors’ contributions
Conceptualization: LB, AN, MR, GC. Data curation: LB, AN, GC. Methodology/formal analysis/validation: LB, AN, MR, GC. Project administration: MR, GC. Funding acquisition: LB, MR, GC. Writing–original draft: LB, AN, GC. Writing–review & editing: LB, AN, MR, GC.
Conflict of interest
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.
Funding
None.
Data availability
Not applicable.
Author (year) (country) | Study design | Participants/sample size |
Intervention |
Frequency/duration | Course content | Study outcomes |
Outcomes in accordance with review objectives |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Experimental/sample | Control/sample | Outcomes (measurement) | Key findings | ||||||
Chang et al. [20] (2019) (Taiwan) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/64 | SVVR/32 | Video/32 | Weekly/16 weeks (3 hours sessions) | Childbirth education training | Learning achievement; motivation; critical thinking; learning attitude; learning satisfaction | Learning achievement (3 open-ended questions and 20 multiple-choice items constructed by the authors; Cronbach’s α=0.70) | Significant effects of the SVVR approach on the learning achievement of students (mean=81.12, SD=0.41) compared to the conventional approach (mean=79.94, SD=0.74); (F=20.30, P<0.001). |
Motivation (6 items: 3 items for intrinsic and 3 for extrinsic motivation; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α>0.79) | The 2 groups significantly differed in learning motivation (F=8.37, P<0.05). | ||||||||
A stronger correlation was observed between the SVVR approach and nursing students’ motivation (intrinsic: η2=0.061, extrinsic: η2=0.371). | |||||||||
Chang et al. [21] (2023) (Taiwan) | Mixed method; 1 group; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/128 | Intravenous injection virtual VR/128 | NA | ND/2.5 hours (10 min per session) | Intravenous injection | Learning motivation; VR acceptance; knowledge. | Learning motivation (14 items; instrument developed by the authors; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.93) | High motivation (score=4.69, SD=0.39; out of 5 points) among VR students. |
No statistically significant differences existed in the mean learning motivation for VR education across student characteristics. | |||||||||
Knowledge (one open-ended question with the skill-checking list for intravenous injections) | Significant improvement in knowledge scores from the pre-test (mean=3.08, SD=1.29) to the post-test (mean=4.96, SD=2.01) (P<0.001). | ||||||||
Dang et al. [22] (2021) (USA) | QE design; 4 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/160 | Immersive telepresence/51 | 3 groups (roles): AP/29, BO/20, AVO/60 | Once/15 min | Medical-surgical course interventions for deep vein thrombosis | Knowledge; engagement; spatial presence; ecological validity/naturalness and negative effects, system usability | Knowledge (20 items; developed and adapted from NCLEX-RN test; 1 point/question, scores from 0 to 20) | There were no significant differences in knowledge post-test scores among the different roles (AP, AVO, BO, ITO) (F [3, 153]=1.645, P=0.18). |
Engagement (44 items; independent television company sense of presence inventory; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.962) | Engagement varied significantly, with small effect sizes, among learners in different roles (F [3, 154]=5.297, P=0.002) | ||||||||
Engagement in immersive telepresence had significantly higher mean scores than AVO learners (P=0.001). | |||||||||
Hardie et al. [23] (2020) (Ireland) | Crosse sectional design | Nursing students/42 | IVR/94 | NA | Once/ND | Storytelling 9 months of a baby’s life inside the mother’s womb | Attitudes; educational practices | Motivation (adapted from [31]; 5-point Likert scale and open-ended responses; Cronbach’s α=0.95) | High levels of motivation toward the IVR storytelling experience mean score of 4.40 (SD=0.63). |
Midwifery students/52 | |||||||||
Engagement (a guide to practitioner research in education outlined by Menter et al. [32]) | IVR experience effectively engaged students’ imaginations (average score=4.40, SD=0.63). | ||||||||
Lee et al. [24] (2020) (Korea) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/120 | VR simulation/60 | 2D video clips/60 | Weekly/2-week (1.5 hr/wk) | Mental-health nursing education | Knowledge acquisition; problem-solving; learning satisfaction | Knowledge acquisition (18 multiple choice questions) | No significant difference between the 2 groups regarding knowledge acquisition (t=-1.69, P=0.096) |
Jung and Park [25] (2022) (Korea) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/60 | VR/30 | Traditional method (handouts)/30 | Once/30 min | Chemoport insertion surgery | Motivation; knowledge; learning attitude; satisfaction | Motivation (34 items; modified Instructional Materials Motivation Scale; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.67) | There was no significant difference in scores for motivation between the 2 groups (t=1.59, P=0.118). |
There were significant differences between the 2 groups in the subdomains of attention (t=2.51, P=0.016) and relevance (t=2.10, P=0.040). | |||||||||
Knowledge (10-item questionnaire developed by the authors. Cronbach’s α=0.73.) | Significant difference in the score for knowledge between the 2 groups (t=4.01, P=0.001). | ||||||||
Lee and Son [26] (2023) (Korea) | QE design; 2 groups; pretest– post-test | Nursing students/76 | VR simulation/38 | Conventional education/38 | ND/20 min | Neurological examination | Transfer motivation; performance; academic self-efficacy. | Transfer motivation (10 items; developed and adapted by Park and Kweon [33]; 7-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.90) | No significant difference in transfer motivation between the 2 groups (t=-1.76, P=0.082). |
Performance (20 items; neurological assessment developed by Newbase Co. Ltd.) | The experimental group had higher neurologic examination performance than the control group (t=-11.62, P<0.001). | ||||||||
Lavoie et al. [27] (2024) (Canada) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/179 | VR simulation/63 | Hybrid simulations (actor and manikin)/116 | Once/90 min | Assessment of a 6-month-old child | Engagement; learning satisfaction; learning confidence; mental effort; cognitive load; clinical reasoning | Engagement (12-item User Engagement Scale–Short Scale; items are rated from 0 to 10; Cronbach’s α for subscales ranged from 0.86 and 0.93) | Significant difference; the hybrid group showed a higher engagement level than the VR group (t=0.05, P<0.01). |
Ma et al. [28] (2023) (USA) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/22 | VR/11 | Video/11 | Once/25 min | Safety awareness; regular checking; psychological communication. | Motivation; knowledge gains; simulation sickness; system usability; presence | Motivation (11 questions; Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) | Equal motivation levels were observed among participants through both the VR approach and video education (t=0.79, P=0.3). |
Knowledge gains (based on the contents covered in the VR module and recorded video to collect measurements through pre- and post-test scores) | The VR and traditional video approaches improved students’ knowledge (VR group: pretest mean=3.53, post-test mean=4.64, P<0.05; traditional video group: pretest mean=3.36, post-test mean=5.09, P<0.05). | ||||||||
Thompson et al. [29] (2020) (Canada) | Cross-sectional design | Nursing students/46 | VR (low immersive)/46 | NA | Weekly/1 hr/wk | Anatomy, physiology, and health assessment | Engagement | Engagement (18 items; modified version of a perceived engagement questionnaire; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.88) | Significantly higher engagement levels in VR, with 91% indicating a preference for VR over traditional methods. |
Dubovi [30] (2022) (Israel) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/141 | VR/72 | Vicarious approach/69 | ND/85 min | Clinical pharmacology course | Knowledge gains, engagement, sense of presence | Knowledge gains (13 multiple-choice questions with 2 sub-scales; Cronbach’s α=0.61 and 0.59) | No significant differences in the learning knowledge gains between the 2 groups (paired t=-1.62, P=0.11). |
Engagement (adapted Medical Emotions Scale; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.88 for negative emotions, Cronbach’s α=0.91 for positive emotions) | Higher level of positive emotions in the VR group than in the vicarious condition (t=4.17, P<0.001) | ||||||||
No significant differences were found between the 2 conditions (direct condition [VR] versus vicarious condition) in the students’ total negative emotions (t=-0.44, P=0.660). |
Study | Study design |
Sampling |
Type of data |
Validity of the evaluation instrument |
Data analysis |
Outcome |
Total score | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Institution studied | Response rate score | Internal structure | Content | Relationships to other variables | Appropriateness of analysis | Sophistication of analysis | Satisfaction, attitudes, perceptions | Knowledge, skills | Behaviors | Patient/health care outcome | ||||
Chang et al. [20] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 13.5 |
Chang et al. [21] | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Dang et al. [22] | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 |
Hardie et al.[23] | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Lee et al. [24] | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Jung and Park [25] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 |
Lee and Son [26] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 |
Lavoie et al. [27] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 |
Ma et al. [28] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 11.50 |
Thompson et al. [29] | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Dubovi [30] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 13.5 |
Variable | Description of criteria |
---|---|
Population | Nursing and midwifery students, regardless of their level of study |
Intervention | Research that explores immersive simulation or immersive virtual reality. |
Comparison | Studies with or without comparison groups employing traditional methods or non-immersive simulations. |
Outcome | Studies focusing on nursing and/or midwifery students’ engagement, motivation, and academic performance, as these students’ experiences and outcomes were at the heart of our research. |
Study design | Included studies: randomized controlled trials, case-control studies, cross-sectional studies, or mixed studies. Excluded: qualitative studies, letters to the editor, editorials, conference abstracts, book chapters, and reviews. |
Database | Terms with a publication date limit February 25, 2024 | Combination |
---|---|---|
Web of Science | #1 ((((((TS= (“immersive simulation”)]] OR TS= (“virtual simulation technology”)]] OR TS= (“virtual reality”)] OR TS= (“Immersive technology-based”)] OR TS= (“immersive learning “)] OR TS=(“immersive education technologies “) | #4: #1 AND #2 AND #3 |
#2 (TS= (“midwifery education”)) OR TS= (“Nursing education”) | ||
#3 ((TS=(“Engagement”)) OR TS=(“Motivation”)) OR TS=(“academic performance”) | ||
PubMed | #1 (((((“Immersive simulation”[Title/Abstract]) OR (“virtual simulation technology”[Title/Abstract])) OR (“virtual reality”[Title/Abstract])) OR (“Immersive technology-based”[Title/Abstract])) OR (“immersive learning”[Title/Abstract])) OR (“immersive education technologies”[Title/Abstract]) | #4: #1 AND #2 AND #3 |
#2(“Nursing education”[Title/Abstract]) OR (“midwifery education”[Title/Abstract]) | ||
#3((“academic performance”[Title/Abstract]) OR (“Motivation”[Title/Abstract])) OR (“Engagement”[Title/Abstract]) | ||
Scopus | (TITLE-ABS («Immersive simulation” OR “virtual simulation technology” OR “virtual reality” OR “Immersive technology-based” OR “immersive learning” OR “immersive education technologies»)) AND (TITLE-ABS («Nursing education” OR “midwifery education»)) AND (TITLE-ABS («academic performance” OR “Motivation” OR “Engagement»)) | - |
Author (year) (country) | Study design | Participants/sample size | Intervention |
Frequency/duration | Course content | Study outcomes | Outcomes in accordance with review objectives |
||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Experimental/sample | Control/sample | Outcomes (measurement) | Key findings | ||||||
Chang et al. [20] (2019) (Taiwan) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/64 | SVVR/32 | Video/32 | Weekly/16 weeks (3 hours sessions) | Childbirth education training | Learning achievement; motivation; critical thinking; learning attitude; learning satisfaction | Learning achievement (3 open-ended questions and 20 multiple-choice items constructed by the authors; Cronbach’s α=0.70) | Significant effects of the SVVR approach on the learning achievement of students (mean=81.12, SD=0.41) compared to the conventional approach (mean=79.94, SD=0.74); (F=20.30, P<0.001). |
Motivation (6 items: 3 items for intrinsic and 3 for extrinsic motivation; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α>0.79) | The 2 groups significantly differed in learning motivation (F=8.37, P<0.05). | ||||||||
A stronger correlation was observed between the SVVR approach and nursing students’ motivation (intrinsic: η2=0.061, extrinsic: η2=0.371). | |||||||||
Chang et al. [21] (2023) (Taiwan) | Mixed method; 1 group; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/128 | Intravenous injection virtual VR/128 | NA | ND/2.5 hours (10 min per session) | Intravenous injection | Learning motivation; VR acceptance; knowledge. | Learning motivation (14 items; instrument developed by the authors; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.93) | High motivation (score=4.69, SD=0.39; out of 5 points) among VR students. |
No statistically significant differences existed in the mean learning motivation for VR education across student characteristics. | |||||||||
Knowledge (one open-ended question with the skill-checking list for intravenous injections) | Significant improvement in knowledge scores from the pre-test (mean=3.08, SD=1.29) to the post-test (mean=4.96, SD=2.01) (P<0.001). | ||||||||
Dang et al. [22] (2021) (USA) | QE design; 4 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/160 | Immersive telepresence/51 | 3 groups (roles): AP/29, BO/20, AVO/60 | Once/15 min | Medical-surgical course interventions for deep vein thrombosis | Knowledge; engagement; spatial presence; ecological validity/naturalness and negative effects, system usability | Knowledge (20 items; developed and adapted from NCLEX-RN test; 1 point/question, scores from 0 to 20) | There were no significant differences in knowledge post-test scores among the different roles (AP, AVO, BO, ITO) (F [3, 153]=1.645, P=0.18). |
Engagement (44 items; independent television company sense of presence inventory; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.962) | Engagement varied significantly, with small effect sizes, among learners in different roles (F [3, 154]=5.297, P=0.002) | ||||||||
Engagement in immersive telepresence had significantly higher mean scores than AVO learners (P=0.001). | |||||||||
Hardie et al. [23] (2020) (Ireland) | Crosse sectional design | Nursing students/42 | IVR/94 | NA | Once/ND | Storytelling 9 months of a baby’s life inside the mother’s womb | Attitudes; educational practices | Motivation (adapted from [31]; 5-point Likert scale and open-ended responses; Cronbach’s α=0.95) | High levels of motivation toward the IVR storytelling experience mean score of 4.40 (SD=0.63). |
Midwifery students/52 | |||||||||
Engagement (a guide to practitioner research in education outlined by Menter et al. [32]) | IVR experience effectively engaged students’ imaginations (average score=4.40, SD=0.63). | ||||||||
Lee et al. [24] (2020) (Korea) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/120 | VR simulation/60 | 2D video clips/60 | Weekly/2-week (1.5 hr/wk) | Mental-health nursing education | Knowledge acquisition; problem-solving; learning satisfaction | Knowledge acquisition (18 multiple choice questions) | No significant difference between the 2 groups regarding knowledge acquisition (t=-1.69, P=0.096) |
Jung and Park [25] (2022) (Korea) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/60 | VR/30 | Traditional method (handouts)/30 | Once/30 min | Chemoport insertion surgery | Motivation; knowledge; learning attitude; satisfaction | Motivation (34 items; modified Instructional Materials Motivation Scale; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.67) | There was no significant difference in scores for motivation between the 2 groups (t=1.59, P=0.118). |
There were significant differences between the 2 groups in the subdomains of attention (t=2.51, P=0.016) and relevance (t=2.10, P=0.040). | |||||||||
Knowledge (10-item questionnaire developed by the authors. Cronbach’s α=0.73.) | Significant difference in the score for knowledge between the 2 groups (t=4.01, P=0.001). | ||||||||
Lee and Son [26] (2023) (Korea) | QE design; 2 groups; pretest– post-test | Nursing students/76 | VR simulation/38 | Conventional education/38 | ND/20 min | Neurological examination | Transfer motivation; performance; academic self-efficacy. | Transfer motivation (10 items; developed and adapted by Park and Kweon [33]; 7-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.90) | No significant difference in transfer motivation between the 2 groups (t=-1.76, P=0.082). |
Performance (20 items; neurological assessment developed by Newbase Co. Ltd.) | The experimental group had higher neurologic examination performance than the control group (t=-11.62, P<0.001). | ||||||||
Lavoie et al. [27] (2024) (Canada) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/179 | VR simulation/63 | Hybrid simulations (actor and manikin)/116 | Once/90 min | Assessment of a 6-month-old child | Engagement; learning satisfaction; learning confidence; mental effort; cognitive load; clinical reasoning | Engagement (12-item User Engagement Scale–Short Scale; items are rated from 0 to 10; Cronbach’s α for subscales ranged from 0.86 and 0.93) | Significant difference; the hybrid group showed a higher engagement level than the VR group (t=0.05, P<0.01). |
Ma et al. [28] (2023) (USA) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/22 | VR/11 | Video/11 | Once/25 min | Safety awareness; regular checking; psychological communication. | Motivation; knowledge gains; simulation sickness; system usability; presence | Motivation (11 questions; Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) | Equal motivation levels were observed among participants through both the VR approach and video education (t=0.79, P=0.3). |
Knowledge gains (based on the contents covered in the VR module and recorded video to collect measurements through pre- and post-test scores) | The VR and traditional video approaches improved students’ knowledge (VR group: pretest mean=3.53, post-test mean=4.64, P<0.05; traditional video group: pretest mean=3.36, post-test mean=5.09, P<0.05). | ||||||||
Thompson et al. [29] (2020) (Canada) | Cross-sectional design | Nursing students/46 | VR (low immersive)/46 | NA | Weekly/1 hr/wk | Anatomy, physiology, and health assessment | Engagement | Engagement (18 items; modified version of a perceived engagement questionnaire; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.88) | Significantly higher engagement levels in VR, with 91% indicating a preference for VR over traditional methods. |
Dubovi [30] (2022) (Israel) | QE design; 2 groups; pre- and post-test | Nursing students/141 | VR/72 | Vicarious approach/69 | ND/85 min | Clinical pharmacology course | Knowledge gains, engagement, sense of presence | Knowledge gains (13 multiple-choice questions with 2 sub-scales; Cronbach’s α=0.61 and 0.59) | No significant differences in the learning knowledge gains between the 2 groups (paired t=-1.62, P=0.11). |
Engagement (adapted Medical Emotions Scale; 5-point Likert scale; Cronbach’s α=0.88 for negative emotions, Cronbach’s α=0.91 for positive emotions) | Higher level of positive emotions in the VR group than in the vicarious condition (t=4.17, P<0.001) | ||||||||
No significant differences were found between the 2 conditions (direct condition [VR] versus vicarious condition) in the students’ total negative emotions (t=-0.44, P=0.660). |
Study | Study design | Sampling |
Type of data | Validity of the evaluation instrument |
Data analysis |
Outcome |
Total score | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Institution studied | Response rate score | Internal structure | Content | Relationships to other variables | Appropriateness of analysis | Sophistication of analysis | Satisfaction, attitudes, perceptions | Knowledge, skills | Behaviors | Patient/health care outcome | ||||
Chang et al. [20] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 13.5 |
Chang et al. [21] | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Dang et al. [22] | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 |
Hardie et al.[23] | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Lee et al. [24] | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Jung and Park [25] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 |
Lee and Son [26] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 |
Lavoie et al. [27] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 |
Ma et al. [28] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 11.50 |
Thompson et al. [29] | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Dubovi [30] | 2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 13.5 |
QE, quasi-experimental; SVVR, spherical video-VR; VR, virtual reality; SD, standard deviation; AP, active participant; BO, bedside observer; AVO, audio-visual observer; IVR, immersive virtual reality; NA, not applicable; ND, not detected; 2D, 2-dimensional.