ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Digit. Health
Sec. Health Technology Implementation
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1575633
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Healthcare AI: Evaluating Accuracy and Future DirectionsView all 10 articles
Healthcare providers' perception and knowledge of the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare service delivery in the Limbe and Buea health districts: A cross-sectional study
Provisionally accepted- 1Department of Public Health and Hygiene, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
- 2DigiCare Cameroon Consortium, University of Buea, South West Region, Cameroon, Buea, Cameroon
- 3Department of Computer Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon, Buea, Cameroon
- 4Department of the Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
- 5Department of Women and Gender Studies, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
- 6Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon
- 7Department of Genetics and Biostatistics, School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon
- 8Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
- 9Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, York University, Canada, Ontario, Canada
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare is rapidly growing in recent years, and has substantially improved the quality of care and health outcomes of patients. Understanding healthcare providers' perception and knowledge of AI in healthcare is crucial for its effective adoption, and its use. This study aimed to determine healthcare providers’ awareness, assess their knowledge of healthcare AI, assess their perceived benefits, readiness to adopt AI in healthcare in Limbe and Buea Health Districts. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted using a multi-staged sampling technique that recruited participants from seven hospitals in Limbe and Buea Health Districts. A questionnaire designed on koboCollect was used for data collection through face-to-face interviews from 494 participants recruited through a multi-stage sampling technique. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26 where descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were done to determine the factors associated with readiness to adopt AI in healthcare. A P-value of <0.05 at 95% CI was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 494 participants were recruited into the study with a mean age of 32.6 ±7.5 years, the majority 355(71.9%) were females, 448(90.7%) had attained tertiary education and the highest proportion 295(59.7%) were Nurses. The study revealed that 373(75.5%) were aware of the use of AI in healthcare, 261(52.8%) had used AI tools, 213(43.1%) had good knowledge of healthcare AI, 283(57.3%) had good perception of its benefits and 230(46.6%) were ready to adopt its use. Those who had access to AI tools were about 5 times more ready to adopt AI use (AOR: 4.5, CI: 3.05-6.72, p: < 0.001). The main challenges reported were job displacement, lack of understanding of AI, and limited access to quality health data. A majority of 465(94.1%) believed training is important to effectively use AI in healthcare. Conclusion: Healthcare providers’ awareness and perceived benefits of AI use in healthcare were good, the knowledge was below average, and an average of the population were ready to adopt AI. Despite the benefits of AI, most of them fear AI will replace their jobs and believe training is important for the effective adoption of AI in healthcare.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, healthcare, Healthcare provider, Perception, Cameroon
Received: 13 Feb 2025; Accepted: 04 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Itoe, Tatsinkou Bomba, Kibu, Kwalar, Asangbeng Tanue, Nkweteyim, Nyamsi, Achankeng, Tchapga, Ayuk, Ondua, Ngono Ema, Sandeu, Gregory, Kong and Nsagha. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dickson Shey Nsagha, DigiCare Cameroon Consortium, University of Buea, South West Region, Cameroon, Buea, Cameroon
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.