Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41709949›Full record

ReviewAdvances in medical education and practice2026

Lessons from a Low-Resource Country: A Narrative Review of Virtual Learning Adoption and Challenges in Medical Education in Iran During COVID-19.

Hajar Vatankhah, Mahboubeh Vatanparast, Zahra Royani, Ghazal Mansouri

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Advances in medical education and practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

4 authors.

Hajar VatankhahPhysiology-Pharmacology Research Center, Research Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
Mahboubeh VatanparastMolecular Medicine Research Center, Research Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0002-1133-5004
Zahra RoyaniSurgical Technology Department, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.ORCID 0000-0002-1450-2779
Ghazal MansouriDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Afzalipour Hospital, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the education system. Education shifted to virtual methods, while there was not enough time to plan and choose a proper educational platform. In this study, we present an up-to-date review of the most commonly used virtual education platforms in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This narrative review systematically searched Persian and English articles (2020-2024) in Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, SID, CIVILICA, and PubMed using keywords: "COVID-19", "virtual learning", "online learning", "distance learning", "post-COVID infection", "real and virtual simulation", and "educational platforms". Results: Virtual classes have become increasingly popular during the pandemic. Adobe Connect, Sky Room, Skype, Big Blue Button, Google Meet, Gharar, Zoom, and Navaid System were the most commonly used platforms during the COVID pandemic in Iran. The most frequently utilized systems included Shad (predominant in general education and training) and Navid (leading in medical sciences). Shad had excelled in scalability and institutional integration but faced connectivity issues in rural areas. Despite its technical strengths, Navid was criticized because of insufficient interactivity and misalignment with learner needs in medical English. Discussion: During COVID-19, online medical education in Iran relied mainly on domestic platforms, which have some limitations. To ensure future equity and competency, a shift toward hybrid models incorporating offline-capable Learning Management Systems (LMS), simulation, and digital literacy training is essential.

Indexed as

COVID-19 pandemiceducational platformseducational technologiesIranian medical universitiesvirtual education

Identifiers

PMID41709949
PMCPMC12912025

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.