In anaesthesia education, e-learning shows no consistent benefit over traditional learning across trials¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Across 13 included studies, four favoured e-learning, one found e-learning non-inferior, three favoured traditional learning, and five found no significant difference. → Blackwood Lachlan 2025

Evidence¶

Blackwood Lachlan 2025¶

Blackwood Lachlan, Hollo Zachary, Amaratunge Lahiru. (2025). Electronic learning methods compared to traditional learning methods in anaesthesia education: a systematic review. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07502-2

q2 · i? · review · r3

A systematic review of 13 randomised controlled trials and prospective cohort studies including 572 health practitioners. The review reports that four studies favoured e-learning, one found e-learning non-inferior, three favoured traditional learning, and five found no significant difference.

"Four eligible studies showed a statistically significant difference in their primary outcomes favouring e-learning, while one study found e-learning non-inferior to traditional learning. Three studies found a statistically significant change in favour of traditional learning and the remaining five studies did not find a significant difference when comparing e-learning and traditional learning."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• E-learning is an important adjunct to traditional learning methods in anaesthesia education — reports the opposite
• Included studies were limited by small participant cohorts and single-centre designs — related
• Same-context advantage may account for the benefit of simulation-based traditional learning over e-learning — related
• 3D virtual-reality lecture was statistically non-inferior to 2D lecture on knowledge and rated better on spatial understanding and enjoyment (Kockro et al.) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Virtual patient simulations show mixed effects: improved diagnostic accuracy in one trial, no advantage over video teaching in another, and short-lived knowledge gains — related
• In the few trials comparing them, virtual patients showed no significant knowledge differences versus other digital education, and skills differences in only one of three studies — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Four of six activity groups are rated better in multimedia format, but quizzes and picture descriptions are rated equally across formats — related
• SDVT matches traditional learning for basic surgical tasks but underperforms for complex procedures — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Comparative studies found mixed results when comparing online active learning with in-person active learning. — related
• Video review improves knowledge and skills outcomes (Kirkpatrick level 2), with mixed findings across studies — a narrower finding that bears on this claim