Knowledge and perception of healthcare workers towards the adoption of artificial intelligence in healthcare service delivery in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is seen as the machine that replaces human labour to work for men with a more effective and speedier result. There is a paucity of data on the knowledge and perception of healthcare workers regarding AI technology. This study aims to assess the knowledge and perception of healthcare workers towards the application of AI in healthcare services in Nigeria. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey designed was used to achieve the aim of this study. Both electronic (Google form) and hardcopy version of the questionnaire were distributed to healthcare workers in Nigeria and their responses were retrieved and statistically analyzed. Results: Out of 263 respondents, most 51.3% (n=135) were females. Greater percentage 25.5% (n=67) of the respondents were radiographers, followed by medical consultants 14.8% (n=39) and the least 1.5 %(n=4) were pharmacists. Greater proportion 61 %(n=160) of the respondents has the opinion that AI can be incorporated into all medical specialties. Out of 263 respondents, 51.7% (n=136) had good knowledge of AI and the least 6.4% (n=16) had very poor knowledge of AI. Greater proportion 78.7% (n=207) of the respondents, agreed that AI can help to reduce the number of medical errors. Majority 29.3% (n=77) of the respondents agreed that human specialists will be replaced by AI in the near future. A large proportion 40.3% (n=106) of the respondents agreed that some employers may prefer AI to human specialists because AI has no emotional exhaustion or physical limitation. Conclusion: The respondents in this study showed good knowledge of both the medical areas of applications of AI as well as the benefits of AI application in healthcare services. However, most of the respondents were afraid that their jobs would be taken over by AI in the near future