Integrating AI-Assisted Design Thinking Into Nursing Education

NCT07767292 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: TDLEG_496_PRSBRE-25-1206
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to test whether an AI-assisted design thinking workshop can improve empathetic communication in undergraduate nursing students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the workshop improve students' empathy, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and patient-centred care attitudes? How do students experience the design thinking and AI-supported learning activities? Researchers will compare the intervention group with a wait-list control group to see whether the workshop leads to better outcomes. Participants will: complete a baseline questionnaire before the workshop; be randomly assigned to receive the workshop now or later; attend two tutorials in the intervention group, including design thinking activities and AI-simulated clinical scenarios; complete a follow-up questionnaire after the workshop; and, for some participants, join a short interview about their learning experience.

Conditions

Nurse Training

Keywords

Design thinking; Nursing education; Problem- solving skills; Empathy; Creativity; Patient-centered care attitude; Collabration

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Empathy

  Empathy will be measured with the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Student Version (JSE-HPS) which yields total scores ranging from 20 to 140; higher scores indicate greater empathy.

  The baseline assessment will be completed one week before the workshop. The post-intervention assessment will be completed within one week after the second tutorial at 12 weeks from enrollment.

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Creativity, collaboration, problem-solving

  The baseline assessment will be completed one week before the workshop. The post-intervention assessment will be completed within one week after the second tutorial at 12 weeks from enrollment.

• Patient-centred care attitudes

  The baseline assessment will be completed one week before the workshop. The post-intervention assessment will be completed within one week after the second tutorial at 12 weeks from enrollment. .

• Experiences and views on the workshop

  After intervention, at 12 weeks from enrollment.

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention arm will receive an AI-assisted design thinking workshop aimed at strengthening empathetic communication in nursing education. The workshop includes two structured tutorials: the first introduces the design thinking process through activities such as empathy mapping, patient journey mapping, "How Might We" framing, and rapid paper prototyping based on real clinical communication challenges. The second tutorial uses a customized conversational AI chatbot to simulate patient scenarios, allowing students to practice responses in a safe learning environment. During the session, tutors will rotate among groups to provide small-group guidance, feedback, and debriefing. The intervention is intended to help students build empathy, creative thinking, collaboration, and patient-centred communication skills.

Other: AI-assisted design thinking workshop

Wait-list control group

OTHER

The wait-list control group will complete the same baseline and follow-up questionnaires as the intervention group but will not receive the workshop during the main study period. Instead, they will continue with their usual learning activities and will be offered the AI-assisted design thinking workshop after the study data collection is completed.

Other: AI-assisted design thinking workshop

Interventions

AI-assisted design thinking workshop OTHER

This intervention is distinct because it combines design thinking with a conversational AI chatbot to teach empathy in undergraduate nursing education. Rather than using lectures or standard simulation alone, it places students in an active, human-centred learning process that begins with empathy mapping and patient journey mapping, then moves to ideation, prototyping, and reflection. The chatbot provides realistic, bilingual clinical communication scenarios and immediate tailored feedback, including difficult situations such as breaking bad news, managing non-compliance, and responding to emotional or culturally complex encounters. The workshop is also developed through co-design with faculty and students, making the intervention closely aligned with actual learning needs and course context. In addition, the study uses a wait-list randomized controlled design, allowing comparison with usual learning while ensuring all students can eventually receive the workshop.

Intervention Group; Wait-list control group

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing programme at CUHK Nethersole School of Nursing.
• Enrolled in the NURS 3127 course during the 2026-27 academic year.
• Willing and able to provide verbal informed consent and participate voluntarily in the study.

You may not qualify if:

• Students with prior participation in design-thinking workshops.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chinese University of Hong Kong: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Location

Study Officials

• Carmen WH Chan, PhD

  The Nethersole School of Nursing, the Chinese University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Carmen WH Chan, PhD

CONTACT

+852 39436218; whchan@cuhk.edu.hk

Khanh Thi Nguyen, PhD

CONTACT

+852 39435120; khanhnguyen@cuhk.edu.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 1, 2026
• First Posted: August 17, 2026
• Study Start: August 25, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 24, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 24, 2027
• Last Updated: August 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)