Spatial abilities and technical skills performance in health care: a systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between spatial abilities and technical skills performance in health care in beginners and to compare this relationship with those in intermediate and autonomous learners.


METHODS
Search criteria included 'spatial abilities' and 'technical skills'. Keywords related to these criteria were defined. A literature search was conducted to 20 December, 2013 in Scopus (including MEDLINE) and in several databases on EBSCOhost platforms (CINAHL Plus with Full Text, ERIC, Education Source and PsycINFO). Citations were obtained and reviewed by two independent reviewers. Articles related to retained citations were reviewed and a final list of eligible articles was determined. Articles were assessed for quality using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network-50 assessment instrument. Data were extracted from articles in a systematic way. Correlations between spatial abilities test scores and technical skills performance were identified.


RESULTS
A series of 8289 citations was obtained. Eighty articles were retained and fully reviewed, yielding 36 eligible articles. The systematic review found a tendency for spatial abilities to be negatively correlated with the duration of technical skills and positively correlated with the quality of technical skills performance in beginners and intermediate learners. Pooled correlations of studies were -0.46 (p = 0.03) and -0.38 (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.53 to -0.21) for duration and 0.33 (95% CI 0.20-0.44) and 0.41 (95% CI 0.26-0.54) for quality of technical skills performance in beginners and intermediate learners, respectively. However, correlations between spatial abilities test scores and technical skills performance were not statistically significant in autonomous learners.


CONCLUSIONS
Spatial abilities are an important factor to consider in selecting and training individuals in technical skills in health care.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Jean
J
Langlois
Department of Health Technology Assessment, Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Christian
C
Bellemare
Library and Archive Services, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.
Josée
J
Toulouse
Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Cardiovascular Research Methods Centre, University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
George A
GA
Wells
D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D004501:Education, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D065855:Spatial Processing