This study examined whether medical professionals across different levels of expertise show differences in their perceptions of healthcare artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that participants with more expertise and experience would have greater negative perceptions associated with AI in healthcare compared to participants with a lower expertise level. Participants completed a questionnaire evaluating their perceptions of healthcare AI across four components: long-term negative consequences of AI, need for AI safeguards, positive perceptions of AI, and AI control. Participants also completed demographic questions evaluating participants' age, sex, ethnicity, years working in a healthcare setting, medical specialty, and whether they had prior experience with AI. Age and years working in a healthcare setting were found to positively correlate with concern for the long-term negative consequences of AI. Additionally, participants were grouped within a major specialty group (i.e., internal medicine, lifestyle medicine, and surgery) based on their reported medical specialty. Participants in the internal medicine group were found to have significantly more concern for the long-term negative consequences of AI. Finally, comparing participants who report working in an administrative position were found to have greater concern for the need for AI safeguards compared to participants reporting working as clinicians. Given that implementation of AI in healthcare is progressing rapidly, knowing whether differences exist amongst perceptions of physicians working at different levels of experience, different roles, and different specialties is important as these individuals are the most impacted by healthcare AI after patients, and the differences in the evaluation of AI among these groups may lead to regulation and guideline changes which affect a hospital at large rather than one specialty or one medical professional.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study examined whether medical professionals across different levels of expertise show differences in their perceptions of healthcare artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that participants with more expertise and experience would have greater negative perceptions associated with AI in healthcare compared to participants with a lower expertise level. Participants completed a questionnaire evaluating their perceptions of healthcare AI across four components: <em>long-term negative consequences of AI</em>, <em>need for AI safeguards</em>, <em>positive perceptions of AI</em>, and <em>AI control</em>. Participants also completed demographic questions evaluating participants' age, sex, ethnicity, years working in a healthcare setting, medical specialty, and whether they had prior experience with AI. Age and years working in a healthcare setting were found to positively correlate with concern for the long-term negative consequences of AI. Additionally, participants were grouped within a major specialty group (i.e., internal medicine, lifestyle medicine, and surgery) based on their reported medical specialty. Participants in the internal medicine group were found to have significantly more concern for the long-term negative consequences of AI. Finally, comparing participants who report working in an administrative position were found to have greater concern for the need for AI safeguards compared to participants reporting working as clinicians. Given that implementation of AI in healthcare is progressing rapidly, knowing whether differences exist amongst perceptions of physicians working at different levels of experience, different roles, and different specialties is important as these individuals are the most impacted by healthcare AI after patients, and the differences in the evaluation of AI among these groups may lead to regulation and guideline changes which affect a hospital at large rather than one specialty or one medical professional.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Costigan, Falon M"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts - Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Steven Estrada","Dr. Lauren Brewer","Dr. Scott Hutchens"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z","subjects":["artificial intelligence","healthcare artificial intelligence","medical practitioners","medical professionals","expertise","Medicine and Health Sciences","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/603","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Steven Estrada","Dr. Lauren Brewer","Dr. Scott Hutchens"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Costigan, Falon M"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-05-07T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts - Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["artificial intelligence","healthcare artificial intelligence","medical practitioners","medical professionals","expertise","Medicine and Health Sciences","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/603"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study examined whether medical professionals across different levels of expertise show differences in their perceptions of healthcare artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that participants with more expertise and experience would have greater negative perceptions associated with AI in healthcare compared to participants with a lower expertise level. Participants completed a questionnaire evaluating their perceptions of healthcare AI across four components: long-term negative consequences of AI, need for AI safeguards, positive perceptions of AI, and AI control. Participants also completed demographic questions evaluating participants' age, sex, ethnicity, years working in a healthcare setting, medical specialty, and whether they had prior experience with AI. Age and years working in a healthcare setting were found to positively correlate with concern for the long-term negative consequences of AI. Additionally, participants were grouped within a major specialty group (i.e., internal medicine, lifestyle medicine, and surgery) based on their reported medical specialty. Participants in the internal medicine group were found to have significantly more concern for the long-term negative consequences of AI. Finally, comparing participants who report working in an administrative position were found to have greater concern for the need for AI safeguards compared to participants reporting working as clinicians. Given that implementation of AI in healthcare is progressing rapidly, knowing whether differences exist amongst perceptions of physicians working at different levels of experience, different roles, and different specialties is important as these individuals are the most impacted by healthcare AI after patients, and the differences in the evaluation of AI among these groups may lead to regulation and guideline changes which affect a hospital at large rather than one specialty or one medical professional.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Medical Professionals' Perceptions of Healthcare Artificial Intelligence"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Steven Estrada","Dr. Lauren Brewer","Dr. Scott Hutchens"],"dc:creator":["Costigan, Falon M"],"dc:date.available":["2025-05-07T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study examined whether medical professionals across different levels of expertise show differences in their perceptions of healthcare artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, the researcher hypothesized that participants with more expertise and experience would have greater negative perceptions associated with AI in healthcare compared to participants with a lower expertise level. Participants completed a questionnaire evaluating their perceptions of healthcare AI across four components: long-term negative consequences of AI, need for AI safeguards, positive perceptions of AI, and AI control. Participants also completed demographic questions evaluating participants' age, sex, ethnicity, years working in a healthcare setting, medical specialty, and whether they had prior experience with AI. Age and years working in a healthcare setting were found to positively correlate with concern for the long-term negative consequences of AI. Additionally, participants were grouped within a major specialty group (i.e., internal medicine, lifestyle medicine, and surgery) based on their reported medical specialty. Participants in the internal medicine group were found to have significantly more concern for the long-term negative consequences of AI. Finally, comparing participants who report working in an administrative position were found to have greater concern for the need for AI safeguards compared to participants reporting working as clinicians. Given that implementation of AI in healthcare is progressing rapidly, knowing whether differences exist amongst perceptions of physicians working at different levels of experience, different roles, and different specialties is important as these individuals are the most impacted by healthcare AI after patients, and the differences in the evaluation of AI among these groups may lead to regulation and guideline changes which affect a hospital at large rather than one specialty or one medical professional.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/603"],"dc:subject":["artificial intelligence","healthcare artificial intelligence","medical practitioners","medical professionals","expertise","Medicine and Health Sciences","Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"dc:title":["Medical Professionals' Perceptions of Healthcare Artificial Intelligence"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts - Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z"}