Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37719412›Full record

SynthesisCanadian medical education journal2023

Effect of teaching tools in spatial understanding in health science education: a systematic review.

Nazlee Sharmin, Ava K Chow, Sharla King

Open access · diamondAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Canadian medical education journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 40% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Article
  4. Bringing Healthcare-Level Hand Hygiene Skills to Children Through Iterative App Design.Proceedings of the ... European conference on games based learning. European Conference on Games Based Learning, author · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. The overcrowded curriculum is alarming.Canadian medical education journal · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Nazlee SharminSchool of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
Ava K ChowSchool of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
Sharla KingFaculty of Education, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
University of Alberta · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: The concept of spatial orientation is integral to health education. Students studying to be healthcare professionals use their visual intelligence to develop 3D mental models from 2D images, like X-rays, MRI, and CT scans, which exerts a heavy cognitive load on them. Innovative teaching tools and technologies are being developed to improve students' learning experiences. However, the impact of these teaching modalities on spatial understanding is not often evaluated. This systematic review aims to investigate current literature to identify which teaching tools and techniques are intended to improve the 3D sense of students and how these tools impact learners' spatial understanding. Methods: The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed for the systematic review. Four databases were searched with multiple search terms. The articles were screened based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and assessed for quality. Results: Nineteen articles were eligible for our systematic review. Teaching tools focused on improving spatial concepts can be grouped into five categories. The review findings reveal that the experimental groups have performed equally well or significantly better in tests and tasks with access to the teaching tool than the control groups. Conclusion: Our review investigated the current literature to identify and categorize teaching tools shown to improve spatial understanding in healthcare professionals. The teaching tools identified in our review showed improvement in measured, and perceived spatial intelligence. However, a wide variation exists among the teaching tools and assessment techniques. We also identified knowledge gaps and future research opportunities.

Indexed as

Health EducationStudentsControl GroupsDatabases, FactualHealth PersonnelHumans

Identifiers

PMID37719412
PMCPMC10500399
OpenAlexW4323351858

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.