Ethical-Regulatory Guidelines for AI in Palliative Care Rehabilitation

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Ethics
• Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) integration in rehabilitation is expanding, including palliative care.
• Existing AI healthcare ethics frameworks are high-level and lack specificity for palliative care rehabilitation's complexities.
• This gap necessitates tailored ethical-regulatory guidance for responsible AI implementation in sensitive settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To consolidate ethically grounded regulatory guidance for AI in palliative care rehabilitation.
• To translate existing international AI principles into context-sensitive domains.
• To address the unique ethical and clinical challenges of AI in palliative care.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative documentary analysis using the READ framework.
• Analysis of authoritative international policy, governance, and regulatory documents on AI in healthcare.
• Coding data according to predefined ethical-regulatory domains.

Main Results:

• Identified five convergent ethical-regulatory domains: human oversight, patient autonomy, transparency, fairness, and professional competence.
• Synthesized these domains into practical considerations linking ethical principles with governance and clinical implementation.
• Established a framework for operationalizing AI ethics in palliative care rehabilitation.

Conclusions:

• The study provides context-sensitive ethical-regulatory guidance for AI in palliative care rehabilitation.
• The framework bridges high-level AI governance with clinical realities, supporting responsible decision-making.
• This systematized approach safeguards patient dignity and autonomy in vulnerable care contexts.