Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 14:12:1529557.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1529557. eCollection 2025.

Simulation-based infection prevention and control training for medical and healthcare students: a systematic review

Akira Yoshikawa  1 , Hiroyuki Ohtsuka  2 , Keiichiro Aoki  3 , Naonori Tashiro  4 , Shusuke Togo  5 , Kazuki Komaba  4 , Satoshi Nogawa  6 , Miwa Osawa  7 , Megumi Enokida  8
Affiliations

Simulation-based infection prevention and control training for medical and healthcare students: a systematic review

Akira Yoshikawa et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Introduction: Infection prevention and control education has traditionally been conducted in a lecture-based manner, and simulation-based educational strategies have become increasingly prevalent in the field of medical education in recent years. This systematic review aimed to compare the effectiveness of the simulation-based and traditional strategies of infection prevention and control education and to show the differences between these educational approaches. Furthermore, we identified the characteristics of simulation-based strategies for infection prevention and control education.

Method: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A systematic literature search was conducted using the CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases for articles published between January 1990 and September 2022. This study focused on students enrolled in medical and health professional courses. As such, healthcare professionals already working in clinical settings, as well as kindergarten and elementary school students were excluded from the study. The quality of the included studies and the risk of bias in each study were assessed. A total of 254 articles were identified; 21 underwent secondary screening. Ultimately, 10 articles were selected for the final review.

Results: Educational strategies between simulation- and lecture-based education showed improvements in knowledge acquisition. There was no significant difference in the rate of improvement between the two educational strategies. The characteristics of simulation-based educational strategies included confidence in skill performance, decision-making and problem-solving skills, emotional aspects related to infectious diseases (such as fear, empathy, self-reflection, and integration of complex information), and student satisfaction.

Conclusion: This systematic review suggests that simulation-based education is effective in developing students' skills and attitudes, while traditional lecture-based methods are more suited for reinforcing students' knowledge. Therefore, it is essential to choose educational strategies based on specific learning objectives and outcomes.

Systematic review registration: This systematic review protocol was preregistered in the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/uj623/.

Keywords: infection control; infection education; infection prevention; simulation education; students; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias in included studies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions (ROBINS-I).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Huang GK, Stewardson AJ, Grayson ML. Back to basics: hand hygiene and isolation. Curr Opin Infect Dis. (2014) 27:379–89. doi: 10.1097/QCO.0000000000000080, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Headquarters W. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on health and care workers: a closer look at deaths. World Health Organization. Available online at: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/345300 (Accessed 1/11/2024).
    1. Vera-Alanis Y, Aranda-Sanchez D, Cano-Verdugo G, Gonzalez-Angulo P, Rueda-Sanchez CB, Rojas-Martinez A. Nursing staff mortality during the Covid-19 pandemic, scoping review. SAGE Open Nurs. (2022) 8:23779608221119130. doi: 10.1177/23779608221119130, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ward DJ. The role of education in the prevention and control of infection: a review of the literature. Nurse Educ Today. (2011) 31:9–17. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2010.03.007, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zingg W, Holmes A, Dettenkofer M, Goetting T, Secci F, Clack L, et al. . Hospital organisation, management, and structure for prevention of health-care-associated infection: a systematic review and expert consensus. Lancet Infect Dis. (2015) 15:212–24. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(14)70854-0, PMID: - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources