Disaster and emergency response simulation education for medical students: A Scoping Review Protocol

Disaster and emergency preparedness aims to increase capacity for the management of, response to, and recovery from events, both natural and anthropogenic, that disrupt human environments. Education efforts are a key component of disaster preparedness, especially in terms of educating and training the disaster healthcare workforce (DHCW). However, despite this critical role, DHCW education in general and in the medical workforce in particular is a noted gap. Simulation is an education tool marked by immersive and/or interactive activities that provide a controlled, safe environment for skills-building. Simulation-based exercises have been observed as a common educational modality for disaster preparedness and response education. A key gap, therefore, is the intersection of simulation-based exercises for disaster response education in medical education. This scoping review is being undertaken, in part, to inform the development and utilisation of disaster/emergency preparedness simulation exercises among medical students globally. The objectives are to collate and describe the methods that employ simulation as a teaching strategy for medical students and to identify models of success, challenges, and opportunities for educating medical students on this area. Undergraduate and graduate medical students will be included. Interprofessional education involving students from multiple health professions will be included if medical student-specific information can be extracted. We will include any study design (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies) describing simulation methodologies for teaching medical students concepts relevant to disaster preparedness or emergency response. Studies must be published between 2001–2025. A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, SCOPUS, ERIC, Google Scholar, and Open Access Thesis and Dissertations will be conducted. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full texts; data will be extracted using a piloted charting form and analysed descriptively. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, presentations at conferences, and engagements with community interest-holders.