Artificial Intelligence in Exercise Prescription in Palliative Care: Perceptions and Ethical Issues

Area of Science:

• Healthcare technology
• Palliative care research
• Clinical informatics

Background:

• Growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare settings.
• Limited research on healthcare professionals' perceptions of AI in palliative care exercise prescription.
• Need to understand ethical implications and training requirements for AI adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore Portuguese healthcare professionals' perceptions of AI in exercise prescription for palliative care.
• To identify ethical considerations associated with AI implementation in this context.
• To determine training needs for effective AI utilization.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study design.
• Online questionnaire distributed to healthcare professionals.
• Sociodemographic data collection, AI knowledge, and perception assessment using statistical analyses (Mann-Whitney, Spearman correlation).

Main Results:

• Sample predominantly young female physiotherapists with limited AI knowledge but high interest in learning.
• Neutral to positive perceptions of AI usefulness, especially for quality of life and personalized interventions.
• Positive views on ethical aspects: AI complementarity, transparency, and explicability; AI literacy and experience correlate with positive perceptions.

Conclusions:

• Importance of structured training programs for safe and responsible AI use in palliative care.
• Need for integrated practical, ethical, and technical components in AI training.
• Proposed ethical guidelines to maintain humanization of care and patient autonomy with AI implementation.