Ding Xiaoxu, Barbic Skye
Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317-2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada, 1 2369928222.
Foundry, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
J Particip Med. 2025 Aug 19;17:e69449. doi: 10.2196/69449.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has made significant advancements in health care. A key application of using artificial intelligence for health (AIH) is the use of AI-powered chatbots; however, empirical evidence on their effectiveness and feasibility remains limited.
This study explored interest group perceptions of integrating AIH in youth mental health services, focusing on its potential benefits, challenges, usefulness, and regulatory implications.
This qualitative study used semistructured in-depth interviews with 23 mobile health stakeholders, including youth users, service providers, and nonclinical staff from an integrated youths' service network. We used an inductive approach and thematic analysis to identify and summarize common themes and subthemes.
Participants identified AIH's potential to support education, navigation, and administrative tasks in health care, as well as to create safe spaces and mitigate health resource burdens. However, they expressed concerns about the lack of human elements, such as empathy and clinical judgment. Key challenges included privacy issues, unknown risks from rapid technological advancements, and insufficient crisis management for sensitive mental health cases. Participants viewed AIH's ability to mimic human behavior as a critical quality standard and emphasized the need for a robust evaluation framework combining objective metrics with subjective insights.
While AIH has the potential to improve health care access and experience, it cannot address all mental health challenges and may exacerbate existing issues. While AIH could complement less-complex services, it could not replace the therapeutic value of human interaction at this time. Co-design with end users is critical for successful AI integration. Robust evaluation frameworks and an iterative approach to build a learning health system are essential to refine AIH and ensure it aligns with real-world evolving needs.
人工智能（AI）技术在医疗保健领域取得了重大进展。将人工智能用于健康领域（AIH）的一个关键应用是使用人工智能驱动的聊天机器人；然而，关于其有效性和可行性的实证证据仍然有限。
本研究探讨了利益相关群体对将AIH整合到青少年心理健康服务中的看法，重点关注其潜在益处、挑战、实用性和监管影响。
本定性研究对23名移动健康领域的利益相关者进行了半结构化深度访谈，这些利益相关者包括青少年用户、服务提供者以及来自综合青少年服务网络的非临床工作人员。我们采用归纳法和主题分析法来识别和总结共同主题及子主题。
参与者认识到AIH在支持医疗保健中的教育、导航和行政任务，以及创建安全空间和减轻健康资源负担方面的潜力。然而，他们对缺乏人文因素表示担忧，如同理心和临床判断力。关键挑战包括隐私问题、快速技术进步带来的未知风险，以及对敏感心理健康案例的危机管理不足。参与者将AIH模仿人类行为的能力视为一项关键质量标准，并强调需要一个强大的评估框架，将客观指标与主观见解相结合。
虽然AIH有潜力改善医疗保健的可及性和体验，但它无法解决所有心理健康挑战，甚至可能加剧现有问题。虽然AIH可以补充不太复杂的服务，但目前它无法取代人际互动的治疗价值。与最终用户共同设计对于成功整合人工智能至关重要。强大的评估框架和构建学习型健康系统的迭代方法对于完善AIH并确保其符合现实世界不断变化的需求至关重要。
