A scoping review of online international student collaboration in occupational therapy education.

All ten included studies were Level VI or below, so the evidence comes mainly from single descriptive or qualitative studies. The online activities varied widely in format, duration, group size and outcome measures, making comparison difficult. Some studies reported only US students or did not report how many students took part, so the findings may not represent all participants. One study found no change in cultural awareness, and some positive reports relied on non-standard questionnaires, reflective essays or course evaluations. Response rates were low in some studies, including 40% questionnaire completion in one study and a 15% response rate among Swedish students in another. The review was designed to map the field, so it included studies regardless of design or quality and only English-language papers.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research, authorship or publication.

Do not conclude that online international collaboration reliably improves cultural competence or occupational therapy understanding. The review included only ten low-quality studies, the activities varied too much to compare, and one study found no change in cultural awareness.