Simulation to evaluate and test cognitive aids for acute and critical health care contexts: a scoping review protocol

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to understand and identify the existing academic literature that describes the design, testing, and/or evaluation of cognitive aids within acute and critical health care contexts using simulation. INTRODUCTION: Cognitive aids are intended to reduce cognitive burden and improve clinician and patient outcomes. Despite their advantages, there is currently a lack of a standardized frameworks for the development, testing, and assessment of cognitive aids, leading to variability in the quality of cognitive aids. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: The review will include articles describing methods and considerations for designing, testing, and evaluating cognitive aids using simulation. Eligible participant cohorts will include medical, paramedical, nursing, and midwifery clinicians. Primary research, peer-reviewed research articles, evidence synthesis, and gray literature (publicly available theses and dissertations) will be included. METHODS: The review will be conducted according to JBI guidance for scoping reviews and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The following electronic databases will be searched: PubMed, Scopus, Embase (Ovid), Emcare (Ovid), Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (NLM), and PsycINFO (EBSCOhost). Gray literature (theses) will be sought via ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, MedNar, and PsycEXTRA. Forward and backward citation searching of eligible articles will be conducted. At least 2 reviewers will assess sources for eligibility at the title and abstract and full-text screening stages. A customized data charting table will be used for data extraction with analysis reported using narrative summaries, statistics, and qualitative content analysis. REVIEW REGISTRATION: OSF osf.io/5dxys/.