Immersive Virtual Reality Simulation Design in Healthcare Education: A Scoping Review

The objective of this review is to identify and explore the key concepts and types of evidence for immersive virtual reality simulation design within the context of healthcare education. Immersive virtual reality simulation is being used increasingly within healthcare education, but there is a paucity of literature available to guide its effective design. A "Population, Context, and Concept" framework was established to identify articles about healthcare education and the design of immersive virtual reality simulation. In March 2023, a search was conducted using CINAHL, Medline, ERIC, and Scopus, where 13 articles were determined as eligible. This search was repeated in March 2024, where a further 15 articles were determined as eligible. The literature highlighted 3 themes, which included rationale, content design and modification, and simulation development. The emergent themes and their interactions form a framework that can be used by educators to guide the design of immersive virtual reality simulations.