Improving perceptions of emerging technologies can help ease strain on health-care systems

Date:
December 2, 2021
Source:
University of Waterloo
Summary:
More attention must be paid to improving perceptions of emerging
technologies like AI-powered symptom checkers, which could ease
the strain on health-care systems, according to a recent study.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
More attention must be paid to improving perceptions of emerging
technologies like AI-powered symptom checkers, which could ease the
strain on health-care systems, according to a recent study.


========================================================================== Symptom checkers are online platforms that help with self-triage based
on a range of inputted symptoms and demographic details.

The study, led by University of Waterloo researchers, found that "tech seekers," people who are open to technology but perceive a lack of access
to it, are the most likely to want to use the technology -- more than
"tech acceptors," people who are both open to it and perceive it to
be accessible.

The least likely group of people to adopt the tool are "tech rejectors,"
those who do not view it as accessible and have a negative view of AI. In between were "skeptics," who have concerns about trust and output quality,
and "unsure acceptors," who do not perceive access to be an issue but
have negative perceptions about AI.

"These findings should be of great interest -- or concern -- to the
three active arms of any health-care system that intends to use AI-driven symptom checkers: prospective patients, medical experts and developers of AI-driven symptom checkers," said co-author Ashok Chaurasia, a professor
in the School of Public Health Sciences. "This study highlights the
need for more collaboration between these groups to improve AI models
and their perception within the general population and medical experts." Stephanie Aboueid, the study's lead author and a School of Public Health Sciences graduate, said, "This technology is very promising in the
health-care sector, given that it has the potential to reduce unnecessary medical visits and address the lack of access to primary care providers."
The researchers surveyed 1,305 university students aged 18 to 34 who
had never used a symptom checker before the study. They gathered data
on trust, usefulness, credibility, demonstrability, output quality, perspectives about AI, ease of use and accessibility for the analysis.

"Symptom checkers are important because they speak to the younger
generation who value timeliness and convenience," Aboueid said. "They are
not just a fad, as we've seen with Babylon, for example, which recently
went public and has been adopted by various health institutions.

Aboueid said the researchers used university-aged responders for the
study because they are typically eager adopters of technology. Because
of the age group studied, high education levels and good health status, additional studies are needed in other populations with wider age ranges, education and health levels, the researchers said.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Waterloo. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Stephanie Aboueid, Samantha B. Meyer, James Wallace, Ashok
Chaurasia.

Latent classes associated with the intention to use a symptom
checker for self-triage. PLOS ONE, 2021; 16 (11): e0259547 DOI:
10.1371/ journal.pone.0259547 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211202092938.htm

--- up 3 weeks, 2 hours, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)