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Research Article: Self-reported understanding and attitudes of healthcare workers and caregivers toward artificial intelligence in pediatric healthcare in a children’s hospital in China: a cross-sectional study

Date Published: 2026-10-14

Abstract:
To investigate the self-reported understanding and attitudes of healthcare workers and caregivers toward the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in pediatric healthcare in a children’s specialty hospital, and to compare differences between the two groups. This single-center cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted at Fujian Children’s Hospital from January 2026 to June 2026. A self-designed questionnaire was used to assess healthcare workers’ and caregivers’ self-reported understanding, trust, risk perception, and willingness to accept AI applications in pediatric healthcare. Respondents were divided into groups according to their identity. Categorical variables were compared using the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, while continuous variables were compared using the independent-samples t test or the Mann–Whitney U test. A total of 261 respondents were included, comprising 159 caregivers and 102 healthcare workers. Healthcare workers had a higher level of self-reported understanding and a higher frequency of use of AI applications in pediatric healthcare than caregivers ( p <?0.01); however, they also showed stronger perceptions of data security risks ( p <?0.001). Caregivers reported greater trust in AI-assisted medical decision-making than healthcare workers ( p <?0.001). Most respondents believed that AI could not replace pediatric healthcare workers, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups ( p =?0.166). Regarding potential advantages, healthcare workers were more likely to agree that AI could reduce human error ( p <?0.001). Regarding potential limitations, healthcare workers expressed greater concern about the risks of misdiagnosis, lack of humanistic care, and data privacy and security issues ( p <?0.001). In this single-center children’s specialty hospital, healthcare workers reported greater self-rated understanding and more frequent use of AI, together with stronger awareness of several potential risks, whereas caregivers showed greater trust in AI-assisted medical decision-making despite lower self-rated understanding. These findings should be interpreted cautiously and require confirmation in larger multicenter studies before being generalized to broader populations in China.

Introduction:
Artificial intelligence (AI)-related technologies have developed rapidly in the field of medicine in recent years and have gradually been applied across multiple aspects of healthcare, including disease screening, assisted diagnosis, image recognition, clinical decision support, health management, and patient education ( 1 , 2 ). Previous studies have shown that AI has potential value in improving the efficiency of healthcare services, optimizing resource allocation, and enhancing patients’ quality of life.…

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