Perception of artificial intelligence-based solutions in healthcare among people with and without diabetes: A cross-sectional survey from the health in Central Denmark cohort

Background

Patients’ acceptance of artificial intelligence (AI) based health-related technologies depend strongly on their perception and trust of AI. This research field has not been studied extensively, especially among people living with diabetes. A large proportion of them frequently use health technologies in their everyday lives to manage their condition, which may make them more prepared to adopt AI-based solutions. Our study aimed to investigate the perception of AI-based solutions in healthcare, and characteristics associated with positive attitudes towards AI among people with and without diabetes.

Methods

An online survey was sent to 12,755 participants in the Health in Central Denmark cohort, including 10 questions and six scenarios related to current technology use, data sharing, and AI. The question on benefits and risks of AI, and the responses to the scenarios were used as outcomes. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine which characteristics were associated with seeing the benefit of AI over the risks, including diabetes status, age, sex, education, health literacy, the use of wearable devices, and views on data sharing. A similar analysis was conducted on the acceptance of AI-based solutions in healthcare-related scenarios.

Findings

8,420 participants responded to the survey. Most participants (88%) had previously heard about AI. 46% of participants agreed with the statement that the benefits of AI outweigh the risks, while only 2% agreed with the opposite statement, and 30% were unsure. We did not find evidence for a differential opinion by diabetes status. Having diabetes was associated with less openness to replace healthcare professionals by AI-based technologies, although most people were still open to AI if controlled by humans.

Interpretation

Despite the generally positive perception of AI and its benefits to healthcare, human interaction seemed to play an important role in defining positive attitudes to AI across different healthcare scenarios, especially among people with diabetes. This highlights the pressing need for a patient-centered development process of AI-based solutions in the future.