Simulated learning interventions to improve communication and practice with deaf and hard of hearing patients: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis.

Virtual and simulated patients are increasingly used in health professional education as learning about patient needs in a safe space greatly benefits student knowledge and skills and increases their empathy towards patients. Yet to date there has been limited focus on using simulated learning techniques in health professional education to promote learning about D/deaf and hard of hearing patients. We used systematic review methodology to search, identify, appraise and abstract relevant articles across CINAHL, MEDLINE, ASSIA and Proquest Central, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane databases yielding a total of 1112 papers. After removing duplicates, inclusion criteria were defined and applied, resulting in 132 articles retrieved for full-text review. Six articles met all inclusion criteria, addressing simulated learning methods for health professional students that provide educational opportunities about Deaf patient experiences. Findings suggest that a myriad of possible simulation modalities can be developed that include opportunities to learn about the D/deaf patient experience and to consider learning about communication and application of knowledge to a specific topic environment. This qualitative synthesis provides insight into potential methods and styles of delivery, whilst noting a very small number of studies in this area. Future research should focus on rigorous and longitudinal studies to understand more about student learning and how interventions impact on their communication and encounters with D/deaf patients.