Exploring the impact of critical thinking on community health nursing education in Canada: a scoping review

• What is currently known about this topic? Critical thinking is essential in community health nursing education in Canada. • What the paper adds to the existing knowledge? This review identifies key contextual and educational factors influencing CT skills. • How the information in your manuscript can be applied to practice? Findings support improved CHN teaching methods to enhance students' critical thinking. To synthesizes the existing evidence about the contextual and educational factors that influence the development of critical thinking in undergraduate nursing students in community health nursing placements in Canada. This study employed a scoping review literature. A comprehensive search was conducted in CINAHL (EBSCO), Medline (Ovid), Embase, and ERIC databases. Peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2024 were included. Two independent reviewers performed the screening process, data extraction, and quality assessment using Covidence, following the Arksey and O'Malley framework and PRISMA guidelines. Out of the 435 Canadian studies imported for screening, ten met the inclusion criteria. These studies highlight the significance of educational methodologies, such as virtual simulation, alongside contextual factors like the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which are crucial in shaping the development of critical thinking. Enhancing critical thinking skills in nursing students benefits their future practice by preparing them to address the complexities of community health nursing in Canada effectively.