Nurse Educ Today. 2026 Jul 8;167:107261. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2026.107261. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The growing global population of older adults necessitates more nurses with positive attitudes, competence, and willingness to provide gerontological and long-term care. However, research indicates that many nursing students lack these attributes. Simulation-based learning (SBL) is proposed as a promising teaching method to address this issue. Aim This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of SBL in improving nursing students’ attitudes, willingness, and performance in gerontological nursing and long-term care-related competencies.
METHODS: This study is a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Embase, CNAHL, ERIC, and PubMed were the four databases that were searched. Studies that examined how SBL affects students’ attitudes, willingness, and performance with respect to gerontological-related skills were included. The Cochrane RoB 2 risk of bias assessment tools were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies.
RESULTS: The study examined eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving a total of 692 participants. The results show that SBL had no significant effect on improving nursing students’ attitudes toward older adults (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI [-0.4048], P = 0.10) or their willingness to work with this population group (SMD = 0.31, 95% CI [-0.15, 0.78], P = 0.19). However, SBL had a statistically significant effect on improving students’ performance in gerontological and long-term care-related competencies (SMD = 1.48, 95% CI [0.67, 2.28], P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: SBL effectively enhances gerontological and long-term care competency among nursing students, but its effects on attitudes and willingness remain inconclusive. Further research is needed to integrate SBL comprehensively into gerontological nursing education.
PMID:42418856 | DOI:10.1016/j.nedt.2026.107261
