The Use of Robotics to Enhance Learning in Nursing Education: A Scoping Review

Current research experiences provide promising evidence about the positive impact of robotics in improving students’ learning outcomes. The growing interest in robotics for nursing education led to new evidence. This scoping review aimed to identify available evidence, to examine how research has been conducted, and to explore knowledge gaps in the use of robotics in nursing education. Retrieved manuscripts described the application of robotics as learning tool in the nursing education. CINAHL, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, Engineering Source, ERIC, INSPEC, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science electronic databases were searched on December 2020. Of 2033 retrieved references, a total of 18 manuscripts were included. Two main technologies are currently used in nursing education: humanoid robot patients and remote-presence robots. The first are prototypes utilized for the acquisition of practical skills, while the second are in an advanced stage of development and are used to gain cognitive learning outcomes. Available results are heterogeneous and related to the reaction of students to the use of robotics or to explore the ability of robots to reproduce human movements and behaviors. Despite promising results, the lack of evidence limits the possibility to understand the effectiveness of robotics to enhance learning in nursing students. Further studies investigating the impact of robotics on nursing students’ performance and knowledge are expected, as current knowledge is inadequate to justify its large-scale introduction in nursing educational field.