Digital Education in the Therapeutic Healthcare Professions: Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech and Language Therapy: a Scoping Review / Digitale Ausbildung in den therapeutischen Gesundheitsberufen Ergotherapie, Physiotherapie und Logopädie: Ein Scoping Review

Abstract

Against the background of increasingly complex healthcare needs, well-trained healthcare professionals are urgently needed. New technologies in the field of digital education can both improve access to education and support the development of transformative skills. This raises the question of the didactic use of digital education in the healthcare professions, which acquire professional knowledge, practical skills, and analytical skills as part of their training. Therefore, a scoping review was conducted to investigate what is known in the literature about digital education in occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech and language therapy. Following a systematic literature search, 100 studies in the past ten years were identified. After prescreening, 16 studies were identified to answer the research question, and for this summarized numerically and then analyzed in a qualitative synthesis. The results provide evidence of positively evaluated teaching concepts and techniques, analytical and practical skill acquisition, and proven technologies. In addition, the results highlight the diversity of digital training options and provide evidence of their effects.