Effect of concept mapping on critical thinking skills in nursing students: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Critical thinking (CT) among nursing students is crucial for delivering high-quality nursing care to patients. Concept mapping (CM) is one of the evidence-based pedagogies that helps to improve CT in individuals.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the impact of concept mapping on CT abilities, academic achievement, and clinical skills in nursing students.

METHODS

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify published articles on the effect of CM on CT in nursing students, written in English and published from 2011 to 2024. The articles were sourced from SCOPUS, Web of Science (WoS), ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases. To ensure a comprehensive and relevant search, the following MeSH terms were used: "Effectiveness" OR "Impact," AND "Concept Mapping," AND "CT," AND "Nursing Student," AND "RCT" OR "Randomized Controlled Trials" OR "Quasi-Experimental." This study used the Cochrane Collaboration's Risk of Bias (RoB) tool and Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) for outcome measurement, with results analyzed using RevMan Web.

RESULTS

This study analyzed 14 RCTs and quasi-experimental studies involving 1,747 participants (E=870, C=877). The meta-analysis found that concept mapping enhanced nursing students' CT skills (MD=4.86, 95 % CI [2.16 to 7.56], p=0.0004), academic achievements (MD=3.38, 95 % CI [0.76 to 5.99], p=0.01), and performance in clinical practice (MD=5.94, 95 % CI [3.22 to 8.65], p<0.0001) when compared to routine instructional methods.

CONCLUSIONS

CM provides valuable insights into enhancing CT and clinical skills in nursing students, eventually preparing them to become excellent nursing professionals in the healthcare system.