The effectiveness of virtual reality technology in student nurse education: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of virtual reality technology in nursing education. Background: Virtual reality technology is regarded as one of the advanced and significant instructional tools in contemporary education. However, its effectiveness in nursing education remains a subject of debate, and there is currently limited comprehensive research discussing the impact of varying degrees of virtual technology on the educational effectiveness of nursing students. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: The present systematic review and meta-analysis were applied according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, ProQuest, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus were searched for relevant articles in the English language. The methodologies of the studies evaluated were assessed using Cochrane Risk of Bias2 (ROB 2) tool and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) assessment tool. We took the learning satisfaction, knowledge, and skill performance of nursing students as the primary outcomes, and nursing students ' self-efficacy, learning motivation, cognitive load, clinical reasoning, and communication ability were assessment as secondary outcomes. The meta-analysis was performed using R 4.3.2 software according to PRISMA guidelines. Heterogeneity was assessed by I-2 and P statistics. Standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used as effective indicators. Results: Twenty-six studies were reviewed, which involved 1815 nursing students. The results showed that virtual reality teaching, especially immersive virtual reality, was effective in improving nursing students ' learning satisfaction (SMD: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.53 -1.11, P < 0.001), knowledge (SMD: 0.56, 95%CI: 0.34 -0.77, P < 0.001), skill performance (SMD: 1.13, 95 % CI: 0.68 -1.57, P < 0.001), and self-efficacy (SMD: 0.64, 95%CI: 0.21,1.07, P < 0.001) compared to traditional teaching methods. However, the effects of virtual reality technology on nursing students ' motivation, cognitive load, clinical reasoning, and communication ability were not significant and require further research. Conclusions: The results of this study show that virtual reality technology has a positive impact on nursing students. Nonetheless, it is crucial not to underestimate the effectiveness of traditional education methods, and future research could analyze the impact of different populations on nursing education while improving virtual reality technology, to more comprehensively explore how to improve the quality of nursing education. Moreover, it is imperative to emphasize the integration of virtual education interventions with real-world experiences promptly. This integration is essential for bridging the gap between the virtual learning environment and real-life scenarios effectively.