Exploring attitudes and acceptance of artificial intelligence in multiple sclerosis from the patient perspective

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftForschungsartikelBeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being integrated into healthcare, particularly in data-intensive chronic diseases that rely on longitudinal monitoring and shared decision-making. Multiple sclerosis is a prototypical example of such care, but real-world benefit will depend on whether people accept AI support in different clinical roles. We conducted a cross-sectional, web-based survey among 241 people with MS (pwMS) to assess comfort with AI across eight clinical domains and to identify predictors of acceptance. We derived an artificial-intelligence attitudes composite with high internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.90). Overall acceptance was moderate (mean 3.39 ± 0.78). Acceptance differed across domains, demonstrating a responsibility gradient: comfort was highest for supportive applications such as chronic management (54.4%) and symptom screening (50.2%), but lower for treatment selection (38.6%) and diagnosis (35.3%; P < 0.001). In multivariable models, frequent general AI use (at least weekly; 30.7%) was the strongest independent predictor of acceptance (P < 0.001). Acceptance also differed by region (Eastern vs Western Germany, P = 0.025), whereas clinical disability was not significantly associated. Older age was associated with lower acceptance of AI-supported management. Most participants viewed AI as a logistical support tool but, assuming equal diagnostic accuracy, 78.8% preferred joint artificial-intelligence-clinician decision-making with clinician final responsibility. These findings indicate that acceptance may be context-dependent and more strongly associated with prior familiarity than with disease severity. Implementation should move beyond technical validation to transparent, clinician-led 'human-in-the-loop' workflows with explicit accountability and staged adoption beginning with low-risk use cases.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummere0001236
FachzeitschriftPLOS digital health
Jahrgang5
Ausgabenummer7
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 1 Juli 2026
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Externe IDs

PubMedCentral PMC13322512
ORCID /0000-0002-7524-7628/work/219976598
ORCID /0000-0001-8799-8202/work/219976681
ORCID /0000-0003-2465-4909/work/219976911
ORCID /0009-0007-0469-5603/work/219977098
ORCID /0000-0002-1997-1689/work/219977101
ORCID /0000-0003-0097-8589/work/219977159

Schlagworte