Research Unit of Mental Health, Children and Adult, Aabenraa, Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Centre for Involvement of Relatives, Mental Health Services Region of Southern Denmark, Vejle, Denmark.
Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2024 Mar;29(1):329-347. doi: 10.1007/s10459-023-10247-6. Epub 2023 Jun 9.
Virtual patients are increasingly used in undergraduate psychiatry education. This article reports on a systematic review aimed at providing an overview of different approaches in this context, describing their effectiveness, and thematically comparing learning outcomes across different undergraduate programs. The authors searched PubMed, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and Scopus databases for articles published between 2000 and January 2021. Quantitative and qualitative studies that reported on outcomes related to learners' knowledge, skills, and attitudes following an intervention with virtual patients in undergraduate psychiatry education were reviewed. Outcomes were thematically compared, and a narrative synthesis of the different outcomes and effectiveness was provided. Of 7856 records identified, 240 articles were retrieved for full-text review and 46 articles met all inclusion criteria. There were four broad types of virtual patient interventions: case-based presentation (n = 17), interactive virtual patient scenarios (n = 14), standardized virtual patients (n = 10), and virtual patient videogames (n = 5). The thematic analysis revealed that virtual patients in psychiatry education have been used for learners to construe knowledge about symptomatology and psychopathology, develop interpersonal and clinical communicative skills, and to increase self-efficacy and decrease stigmatizing attitudes towards psychiatric patients. In comparison with no intervention, traditional teaching, and text-based interventions, virtual patients were associated with higher learning outcomes. However, the results did not indicate any superiority of virtual patients over non-technological simulation. Virtual patients in psychiatry education offer opportunities for students from different health disciplines to build knowledge, practice skills, and improve their attitudes towards individuals with mental illness. The article discusses methodological shortcomings in the reviewed literature. Future interventions should consider the mediating effects of the quality of the learning environment, psychological safety, and level of authenticity of the simulation.
虚拟患者在本科精神病学教育中越来越多地被使用。本文报告了一项系统评价，旨在提供该背景下不同方法的概述，描述其有效性，并对不同本科课程的学习成果进行主题比较。作者在 PubMed、PsycInfo、CINAHL 和 Scopus 数据库中检索了 2000 年至 2021 年 1 月期间发表的文章。综述了在本科精神病学教育中使用虚拟患者进行干预后与学习者知识、技能和态度相关的结果的定量和定性研究。对结果进行了主题比较，并对不同结果和效果进行了叙述性综合。在 7856 条记录中，有 240 篇文章被检索到进行全文审查，有 46 篇文章符合所有纳入标准。虚拟患者干预有四种主要类型：基于案例的演示（n=17）、互动虚拟患者场景（n=14）、标准化虚拟患者（n=10）和虚拟患者视频游戏（n=5）。主题分析表明，精神病学教育中的虚拟患者被用于帮助学习者构建关于症状学和精神病理学的知识，发展人际和临床沟通技能，并提高自我效能感，减少对精神病患者的污名化态度。与无干预、传统教学和基于文本的干预相比，虚拟患者与更高的学习成果相关。然而，结果并没有表明虚拟患者比非技术模拟具有任何优势。精神病学教育中的虚拟患者为来自不同健康学科的学生提供了构建知识、实践技能和改善对精神疾病患者态度的机会。文章讨论了综述文献中的方法学缺陷。未来的干预措施应考虑学习环境质量、心理安全和模拟真实性的中介作用。
