Effect of Interventions on Spatial Abilities in Anatomy Education: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Abstract

ObjectiveSpatial abilities have been correlated to anatomy knowledge assessment using practical examination, 3D‐synthesis from 2D‐views, drawing of views, and cross‐sections in a previous systematic review. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of interventions on spatial abilities in the field of anatomy education.MethodsSearch criteria included ‘interventions', ‘spatial abilities' and ‘anatomy’. Keywords related to these criteria were defined. A literature search was conducted to August 3, 2017 in Scopus and EBSCOhost platform (Medline with Full Text, Cinahl Plus with Full Text, ERIC, Education Source, and PsycInfo). Citations were reviewed and those involving the field of anatomy education, an intervention, and a spatial abilities test were retained and the corresponding full‐text articles were reviewed for inclusion. Citations related to abstracts, literature reviews, books, book sections, and theses were excluded. Citations and full‐text articles were reviewed by two independent investigators. Methods in the field of anatomy education relating an intervention to spatial abilities test scores obtained before and after the intervention were identified as eligible. Eligible articles were reviewed in a systematic way and assessed for quality using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network‐50 assessment instruments. Effect sizes using standardized mean differences were calculated since different measurement scales for spatial abilities test scores were used. If I2 was greater than 50%, then heterogeneity was formally evaluated and random effects model was considered.ResultsOf the 2405 citations obtained, 52 articles were identified and reviewed, yielding 8 eligible articles. Instruction in anatomy and mental rotations training were found to improve spatial abilities. For the 7 studies retained for the meta‐analysis that included the effect of interventions on spatial abilities test scores, the pooled difference was 0.68 [95% CI (0.40; 0.95); n = 11] improvement with an I2 of 82%. For the 2 studies that included the practice effect on spatial abilities test scores in a control group, the pooled difference was 0.59 [95% CI (0.41; 0.76); n = 2] improvement with an I2 of 0%. In these 2 studies, the impact of the intervention on spatial abilities test scores was found valid despite the practice effect.ConclusionEvidence was found for improvement of spatial abilities in the field of anatomy education using instruction in anatomy and mental rotations training.Support or Funding InformationFunding: none.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.