Hybrid education in healthcare education : a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Given the need to restructure healthcare education institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid education has been identified as an alternative to reorganize educational activities. The objective of this study is to describe hybrid education development in healthcare education. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted based on the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) guideline. A peer-reviewed search was conducted across four electronic databases between July and September 2020. Descriptors used were "distance education", "learning", "health", "nursing", "medicine", "dentistry", "physical therapy" and "hybrid education". Selected articles were classified based on their level of evidence. Results: 49 articles were selected, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies. Experiences in the development of hybrid education in multiple healthcare courses were found. Hybrid education has been implemented based on the rotation model, a la carte model and Flex model. Discussion: Hybrid education has been gaining more and more importance in the academic scenario of healthcare education. Based on this, students manage to stand out in their learning process as they become the main agent of this process by actively learning using multiple education tools provided by their teachers. Conclusions: Successful hybrid education can be related to its innovative, flexible, cost-effective nature and the ability to turn students into key players in their teaching-learning process, which ends up influencing their own academic performance. © 2022 by the authors.