How virtual reality is being adopted in anatomy education in health sciences and allied health: A systematic review.

Abstract

Virtual anatomy is being increasingly adopted in anatomy education. This systematic review evaluated the literature between January 2000 and August 2024 to understand how virtual reality (VR) in Anatomy Education is implemented in Health Sciences and Allied Health, focusing on learning outcomes and student perceptions. Following registration with the Open Science Framework and adhering to PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search across nine databases identified fifteen eligible studies. The learning outcomes assessed included knowledge acquisition, retention, conceptual understanding, and learning confidence, alongside perceptions of VR as a learning tool, user experience, and satisfaction. Fifty percent (4/8) of the studies evaluating knowledge acquisition and retention reported statistically significant improvements following VR adoption. Enhanced conceptual understanding and learning confidence were consistently reported. All studies exploring perceptions highlighted positive views of VR, emphasizing its effectiveness as a learning tool. Additionally, user experience and satisfaction outcomes were uniformly favorable across all studies. Of the eight studies comparing alternative teaching methods, 75% (6/8) reported VR surpassed traditional teaching methods, including lectures, prosections, 2-dimensional (2D) models, 3-dimensional (3D) printing, cadavers, or advanced technologies such as augmented reality (AR). However, VR configurations, comparator modalities, and participant demographics were shown to influence learning effectiveness. Immersive VR dominated as the intervention of choice, while the role of VR controllers in anatomy education was underexplored. This review identifies the potential of VR in anatomy education while also pointing out areas needing further research, particularly the influence of VR hardware configurations and user interaction modalities on learning outcomes.