Using second life to teach health professions students about Alzheimer's Disease: A comprehensive review

Increased training is necessary to ensure that the next generation of health care professionals are prepared to effectively and compassionately serve patients with Alzheimer's Disease. Second Life® is a virtual world shown to provide a safe, convenient, and effective environment for teaching health-related content. To date, there has been no comprehensive review of studies using Second Life in education about Alzheimer's Disease. The authors conducted a scoping review of the literature on the use of Second Life in the education of medical, nursing, and health professions students about Alzheimer's Disease. Searches were conducted in PubMed, SCOPUS, and CINAHL. Thirty-two studies containing outcomes of the application of virtual reality and the virtual world Second Life were identified. Studies were classified using the Kirkpatrick Four-Level Training Evaluation Model. Changes in knowledge, attitudes, and confidence (Level 2), were most commonly reported, followed by positive reactions (Level 1). No studies identified system-level results and few examined changes in behavior. While results indicate positive student reactions and enhanced learning from Second Life interventions related to Alzheimer's Disease, they also highlight a need for future research examining outcomes at the higher Kirkpatrick levels.