Exploring the Acceptance and Opportunities of Using a Specific Generative AI Chatbot to Assist Parents in Managing...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Rheumatology
• Health Informatics
• Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Background:

• Health care chatbots offer support for patients and families in daily decision-making.
• Generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are underexplored in pediatric rheumatology.
• Families managing pediatric rheumatology conditions face challenges with disease flares, pain, and medication adherence, often needing support outside clinical hours.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore parental and child acceptance of chatbot use in pediatric care.
• To understand how chatbots can specifically manage children's chronic health conditions.
• To identify user needs for a pediatric rheumatology chatbot.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods design incorporating a family workshop (world café methodology) and a subsequent questionnaire.
• Qualitative data collected from 22 participants.
• Quantitative data collected from 47 participants (36 parents, 11 children/young people).

Main Results:

• Participants showed high likelihood of using chatbot technology due to accessibility.
• Significantly greater intention to use a specialized chatbot over general AI (e.g., ChatGPT) was reported, driven by trust, credibility, and design specificity.
• Distinct user groups (parents and children/young people) require tailored chatbot features and personalization.

Conclusions:

• A specialized, trusted chatbot, co-designed with health professionals, is needed to support families managing chronic pediatric conditions between appointments.
• Future research should focus on evaluating functional prototypes and real-world implementation.
• Tailored chatbot interventions hold potential for families managing various chronic pediatric health conditions.