{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T14:01:11Z","timestamp":1787666471657,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778716800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Artificial intelligence (AI)\u2013enhanced virtual patient simulations are increasingly used in health professions education to improve clinical communication and diagnostic reasoning. However, the effectiveness of these technologies for psychiatric interview training has not been systematically quantified. This study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the existing literature evaluating the impact of AI-enhanced virtual patients on psychiatric interview performance, knowledge acquisition, and learner confidence in health professions education.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Materials and methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Electronic database searches were performed in PubMed\/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies published between January 2000 and March 2026. Studies were included if they evaluated AI-enhanced virtual patient simulations for psychiatric interview training among medical students, psychiatry residents, clinicians, or other health professions trainees. Data extraction included study characteristics, participant populations, intervention types, and educational outcomes. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Quantitative synthesis was performed using random-effects meta-analysis models, and effect sizes were calculated as standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using R statistical software.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 560 records were identified through database searches and additional sources. After removal of duplicates and screening procedures, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. The studies involved approximately 450 participants, including medical students, psychiatry residents, clinicians, nursing students, and psychology trainees. AI-enhanced virtual patient interventions included conversational AI systems, virtual human simulations, large language model\u2013based simulated patients, and AI\u2013virtual reality training environments. The pooled analyses indicated improvements in psychiatric interview performance, knowledge acquisition, and learner confidence following AI-supported virtual patient training. Subgroup analysis demonstrated positive educational outcomes across both student and clinician populations. Risk-of-bias assessment revealed variable methodological quality across studies, with several pilot and non-randomized designs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>AI-enhanced virtual patient simulations appear to be effective educational tools for improving psychiatric interview training in health professions education. These technologies provide scalable and standardized simulation environments that support communication skill development, diagnostic reasoning, and learner confidence. Although the findings suggest promising educational benefits, further large-scale randomized controlled trials and standardized outcome assessments are needed to confirm the long-term educational impact of AI-supported virtual patient training in psychiatry.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1834636","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T04:26:19Z","timestamp":1778732779000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Effectiveness of AI-enhanced virtual patients for psychiatric interview training in health professions education: a meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Senay","family":"Kilincel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Istanbul Aydin University","place":["Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Furkan","family":"Bulut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Private Practice, Psychotherapy Institute","place":["Sakarya, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pelin","family":"Goksel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Adult Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University","place":["Samsun, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mirac Baris","family":"Usta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ondokuz May\u0131s University","place":["Samsun, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tuba","family":"Mutluer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Koc University","place":["Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"]},{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Akdeniz University","place":["Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Oguzhan","family":"Kilincel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child Development, Istanbul Gelisim University","place":["Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-024-06529-1","article-title":"An approach to teaching the psychiatric interview","volume":"25","author":"Hierlihy","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"332","DOI":"10.1111\/jan.14986","article-title":"Effectiveness of simulation in psychiatry for nursing students, nurses and nurse practitioners: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"78","author":"Piot","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Adv Nurs"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2199469","DOI":"10.1080\/10872981.2023.2199469","article-title":"Simulation training in suicide risk assessment and intervention: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"28","author":"Richard","year":"2023","journal-title":"Med Educ Online"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"658967","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.658967","article-title":"Simulation training in psychiatry for medical education: a review","volume":"12","author":"Piot","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Psych"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"972703","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2022.972703","article-title":"Communication skills in psychiatry for undergraduate students: a scoping review","volume":"13","author":"Novais","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Psych"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.3946\/kjme.2025.330","article-title":"Enhancing medical student training during psychiatry clerkship through a school-based mental health approach: a qualitative study","volume":"37","author":"Sekhar","year":"2025","journal-title":"Korean J Med Educ."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"628","DOI":"10.1097\/acm.0000000000005632","article-title":"Promoting longitudinal and developmental computer-based assessments of clinical reasoning: validity evidence for a clinical reasoning mapping exercise","volume":"99","author":"Torre","year":"2024","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-56246-9_13","volume-title":"GeNeDis 2016. 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