The increasing adoption of digital education, including mobile learning (mLearning), is transforming the training of future health professionals, offering advantages such as improved accessibility, timeliness, and affordability. While mLearning enhances clinical training by providing flexible access to information and supporting practical skills development, challenges such as inadequate resources and resistance from staff and patients need to be addressed for successful integration. This review aims to explore the factors for successful adoption of mLearning in clinical placements, providing valuable insights to inform best practices in its implementation. A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Arksey and O’Malley and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology was applied. Searching 6 electronic databases plus manual searching returned 5178 articles, with 76 articles included in analysis. All studies were published between 2008 and 2024, with a significant proportion originating from Canada (n = 12), the United States (n = 12), the United Kingdom (n = 11), and Australia (n = 11). The majority of the studies involved nursing (n = 47) and medical (n = 24) students. The analysis revealed 6 facilitators and 6 barriers. It identified positive attitudes toward mobile applications, highlighting their role in enhancing education in clinical environment, organizing training, and improving patient care. However, barriers such as the absence of regulations, ethical concerns, and technical issues were also noted, along with the need to address information literacy and skills. Mapping research regarding facilitators and barriers for introducing mobile learning technologies into undergraduate education in clinical environment has helped in creating a set of solutions which are capable to ensure the success and sustainability of mLearning. These solutions should be considered at the innovation’s design, implementation, and post-implementation stages to guarantee its effectiveness in education in clinical environments. This may help to enhance the learning experience, improve knowledge retention, and develop clinical skills, while providing a cost-effective solution for clinical training programs for healthcare professions. This, in turn, has positive implications for quality of care provided.

Background: The learning process in clinical placements for health care students is a multifaceted endeavor that engages numerous actors and stakeholders, including students, clinical tutors, link teachers, and academic assessors. Successfully navigating this complex process requires the implementation of tasks and mentorships that are synchronized with educational and clinical processes, seamlessly embedded within their respective contexts. Given the escalating number of students and the rising demand for health care services from the general population, it becomes imperative to develop additional tools that support the learning process. These tools aim to simplify day-to-day clinical practice, allowing a concentrated focus on value-based activities. This paper introduces a project funded by the European Commission that involves 5 European countries. The project’s objective is to comprehensively outline the entire process of development and ultimately implement mobile technology in practice placements. The project tackles the existing gap by constructing tailored mobile apps designed for students, teachers, tutors, and supervisors within each participating organization. This approach leverages practice-based learning, mobile technology, and technology adoption to enhance the overall educational experience. Objective: This study aims to introduce mobile technology in clinical practice placements with the goal of facilitating and enhancing practice-based learning. The objective is to improve the overall effectiveness of the process for all stakeholders involved. Methods: The “4D in the Digitalization of Learning in Practice Placement” (4D Project) will use a mixed methods research design, encompassing 3 distinct study phases: phase 1 (preliminary research), which incorporates focus groups and a scoping review, to define the problem, identify necessities, and analyze contextual factors; phase 2 (collaborative app development), which involves researchers and prospective users working together to cocreate and co-design tailored apps; and phase 3, which involves feasibility testing of these mobile apps within practice settings. Results: The study’s potential impact will primarily focus on improving communication and interaction processes, fostering connections among stakeholders in practice placements, and enhancing the assessment of training needs. The literature review and focus groups will play a crucial role in identifying barriers, facilitators, and factors supporting the integration of mobile technology in clinical education. The cocreation process of mobile learning apps will reveal the core values and needs of various stakeholders, including students, teachers, and health care professionals. This process also involves adapting and using mobile apps to meet the specific requirements of practice placements. A pilot study aimed at validating the app will test and assess mobile technology in practice placements. The study will determine results related to usability and design, learning outcomes, student engagement, communication among stakeholders, user behavior, potential issues, and compliance with regulations. Conclusions: Health care education, encompassing disciplines such as medicine, nursing, midwifery, and others, confronts evolving challenges in clinical training. Essential to addressing these challenges is bridging the gap between health care institutions and academic settings. The introduction of a new digital tool holds promise for empowering health students and mentors in effectively navigating the intricacies of the learning process. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/53284

Mobile learning (mLearning) is increasingly recognized as a valuable tool for supporting clinical education by offering students flexible, real-time access to information within clinical learning environments (CLEs). However, its implementation is often hindered by infrastructural limitations, lack of institutional support and training, and concerns related to professionalism and patient perception. There is a lack of evidence that considers both student and stakeholder perspectives across different health education contexts. This study aimed to explore perceived barriers and facilitators to the integration of mLearning in clinical education from the perspectives of undergraduate health occupation students and clinical stakeholders. An exploratory qualitative design was used, involving six focus groups (FGs) with 25 students and 26 stakeholders from three European universities (Spain, Poland, and Germany). Data were analyzed thematically using the FRAME model (Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education). Research rigor was ensured through COREQ (COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research) guidelines and recognized qualitative research standards. Ethical approval was obtained from all institutions involved. A total of 51 participants - 25 students and 26 stakeholders - contributed to six FGs across three countries. Thematic analysis, guided by the FRAME model, revealed key benefits and challenges of mLearning integration in clinical education. Participants highlighted the potential of mobile technology to enhance flexibility, access to knowledge, and peer collaboration in clinical education. However, significant challenges remain, including ethical concerns, generational divides, limited infrastructure, and institutional resistance. Mobile technology offers clear benefits for clinical education - such as flexibility, access, and collaboration - but its integration requires addressing ethical, organizational, and generational barriers. Effective implementation demands inclusive, co-designed strategies supported by infrastructure, training, and cultural change.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: The learning process in clinical placement for healthcare students is a multifaceted endeavor involving numerous actors and stakeholders as students, clinical tutors, link teachers, and academic assessors. Successfully navigating during this complex process tasks and mentorships must be implemented in a way that is synchronized with educational and clinical processes and well-embedded in the respective contexts. With the increasing number of students, coupled with the growing demand for healthcare service provision from the general population, it is mandatory to develop additional tools to support the learning process, remove complexity from day-to-day clinical practice, and focus solely on value-based activities. This paper presents a project funded by the European Commission where five European countries are involved. It aims to describe all the process of development and finally implementing mobile technology in practice placement. The project addresses this existing gap by building customized mobile applications for students, teachers, tutors, and supervisors of each participant organization through practice-based learning, mobile technology, and technology adoption. Objective: Introducing mobile technology in clinical practice placements to facilitate and enhance practice-based learning, thereby improving the effectiveness of the process for all involved stakeholders. Methods: A mixed methods research design will guide the '4D in the Digitalization of Learning in Practice Placement' (4D Project) comprising three distinct study phases: Phase 1. Preliminary research, involving focus groups and a scoping review, to define the problem, identify necessities, and analyze the contextual factors; Phase 2. Collaborative app development, where researchers and prospective users work together to co-create and co-design tailored applications; and Phase 3. Feasibility testing of these mobile applications within practice settings. Results: The study's potential impact will center on improving communication and interaction processes, fostering connections among stakeholders in practice placements, and enhancing the assessment of training needs. The literature review and focus group will enable the identification of barriers, facilitators, and factors supporting the integration of mobile technology in clinical education The co-creation process of mobile learning applications will unveil the core values and needs of various stakeholders, including students, teachers, and healthcare professionals, and the adaptation and utilization of mobile applications to suit the specific requirements of practice placements. A pilot study to validate the app will test and assess the mobile technology in practice placements and determine results about usability and design, learning outcomes, student engagement, communication among stakeholders, user behavior, potential issues, and compliance with regulations. Conclusions: Healthcare education, such as medicine, nursing, midwifery, and others, face evolving challenges in clinical training. Bridging the gap between healthcare institutions and academic settings is essential. The introduction of a new digital tool holds promise for empowering health students and mentors in managing the intricacies of the learning process.

BACKGROUND Social justice (SJ) is increasingly relevant to nursing education, where professional practice requires attention to health inequities, human rights, and the needs of people and communities experiencing vulnerability. Service-learning (SL) may support SJ education by integrating academic learning, community engagement, and critical reflection. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine whether changes in undergraduate nursing students’ attitudes toward social justice differ between those who participated in a service-learning intervention and those who did not, and to explore the experiences, perceptions, and meanings attributed to social justice by students who participated in the intervention. METHODS This protocol describes a convergent mixed methods study conducted in an undergraduate nursing program in Spain. The quantitative component used a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with an intervention group participating in an SL intervention and a comparison group not participating in the intervention. Attitudes toward SJ were assessed using the validated Spanish version of the Social Justice Scale (SJS), which has demonstrated adequate internal consistency. The qualitative component used an interpretive design based on individual semistructured interviews with students from the intervention group. Qualitative data will be analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Postintervention quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently and will be analyzed separately. The findings will be integrated through a joint display and narrative comparison to identify convergence, complementarity, and divergence. RESULTS Ethics approval was obtained in April 2023. Quantitative data were collected from April 2023 to January 2024. Of 79 participants, 75 had complete preintervention and postintervention data: 22 in the intervention group and 53 in the comparison group. Nine intervention-group students completed individual interviews between December 2023 and January 2024. At manuscript submission, data collection, questionnaire completeness checks, and transcript verification had been completed. The principal quantitative analyses, formal qualitative analysis, and mixed methods integration had not yet begun. CONCLUSIONS This study will combine quantitative and qualitative evidence to examine how participation in an SL intervention is associated with SJ-related attitudes and how students interpret distribution, recognition, and democratic participation after the experience. The findings may inform the design and evaluation of SJ education in undergraduate nursing curricula. CLINICALTRIAL Not applicable.

Background: Competencies, such as knowledge, critical thinking, and clinical reasoning skills, are the essential individual characteristics required for effectively carrying out nursing duties. The acquisition and assessment of these competencies among nursing students are crucial for their future practice. This study aims to validate the Competency Inventory of Nursing Students in Spanish. Methods: Validation and back-translation into Spanish of the Nursing Competency Inventory of Nursing Students. Results: The sample was collected from the University of Barcelona, Lleida, and Tecnocampus. Most participants (85.3%) were females between 20 and 29, and 45.3% were in their third year. The general answer mean was 6.34 points. Dimension 4 (Clinical biomedical science) obtained the lowest score and dimension 1 (Ethics and accountability) the highest. The content validity index for the entire scale was 0.93. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure was 0.926. The Spanish version of the scale demonstrated a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.95. Conclusions: The Spanish CINS version is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to evaluate nursing students’ competencies in the Spanish context.