A Schematic Insight to Virtual Reality in Inter-professional Simulation for Enhancing Teamwork among Medical Professionals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Virtual reality (VR)-based interprofessional simulation is a growing educational method of improving teamwork and communication between healthcare professionals. This systematic review and meta-analysis intended to determine the relevance of VR simulation to improve teamwork performances and the communication attributes in different healthcare disciplines. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and Google scholar in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Interventions that targeted the aspects of interprofessional teamwork and communication attitudes were eligible. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane risk of bias tool and Newcastle Ottawa for Randomized control trials (RCTs) and Observational studies, respectively. The certainty of evidence was evaluated with GRADE criteria. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were determined and were expressed as 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) and the heterogeneity was compared as I2 statistics. Results: A total of 10 studies were included in which VR-based interprofessional simulation was found to produce a substantial positive impact on the performance of teamwork among nursing students (SMD = 0.73; 95% CI: 0.17-1.29; p < 0.0001) or surgeons (M = 7.81; 95% CI: -2.52 to 18.16; p = 0.0007). As a secondary outcome, there was a large positive impact of communication attitudes as well (SMD = 1.02; 95% CI: 0.66 to 1.37; p < 0.0001). These results were stable as confirmed by sensitivity analyses. Discussion: VR-based Inter professional simulations may be utilized in training healthcare workers in building teamwork and communication skills in order to facilitate better collaboration and increased patient safety.