Community Health Nurses' Knowledge and Perceptions of AI in Canada: National Cross-Sectional Survey

Area of Science:

• Nursing informatics
• Health technology adoption
• Artificial intelligence in healthcare

Background:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into healthcare, with applications like risk prediction and wearable devices.
• AI development is often led by non-nurses, potentially not aligning with registered nurses' (RNs) needs.
• The awareness and perceptions of AI among community health nurses (CHNs) remain largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess community health nurses' (CHNs) awareness and knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI).
• To understand CHNs' perceptions regarding AI's impact on their practice.
• To identify strategies for better involving CHNs in AI development and implementation.

Main Methods:

• An online, cross-sectional survey was distributed to Canadian community health nurses (CHNs) between April and July 2023.
• Descriptive statistics were used to summarize respondent characteristics and AI perceptions.
• Chi-square tests and odds ratios (OR) analyzed the relationship between AI knowledge levels and perceptions.

Main Results:

• Of 228 CHN participants, 56.8% reported "not good" understanding of AI, and 39.6% felt uncomfortable with AI development.
• Nurses with "good" AI knowledge were twice as likely to view AI as revolutionary for nursing and healthcare (P=.007).
• Concerns about professional accountability regarding AI recommendations were prevalent (77.7% for accepting wrong advice, 73.8% for dismissing correct advice).

Conclusions:

• Enhanced AI knowledge correlates with more positive perceptions among community health nurses (CHNs).
• Addressing professional concerns and providing educational resources can improve CHN comfort and integration of AI.
• Further research is needed to explore optimal methods for involving CHNs in AI implementation within their practice.