Future of AI in healthcare: Knowledge, attitudes, and acceptance by healthcare workers in Ghana

What is it about?

Hospitals around the world are short of doctors and nurses, and artificial intelligence (AI) is often presented as part of the solution. But new technology only helps if the people using it are ready to work with it. This study asked 266 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health workers at the University of Ghana Medical Centre in Accra what they know about AI, how they feel about it, and whether they would use it in their work. Most rated their own knowledge as only average, very few had any formal training, and many were unfamiliar with how tools like machine learning work. Even so, most were optimistic: nearly three-quarters agreed AI could benefit healthcare, and many said they were willing to work alongside it. Workers who knew more about AI were more positive, more trusting, and more willing to collaborate with it. Early-career staff were the most enthusiastic, and doctors and pharmacists reported knowing more than nurses. Their openness came with conditions. They preferred AI that supports human decisions rather than replaces them, and they worried about ethics, trust, and the lack of training. The authors conclude that training and sensible ethical rules matter as much as the technology itself.

Featured Image

Photo by rodrigo porto on Unsplash

Photo by rodrigo porto on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Most research on AI in healthcare comes from wealthy countries, where hospitals have very different resources, infrastructure, and training than those across much of Africa. This study offers rare, on-the-ground evidence from a major hospital in Ghana, drawn from a random sample across clinical departments rather than an online survey that can miss staff with limited digital access. It is timely because health systems are being urged to adopt AI quickly, often before anyone has asked frontline workers whether they feel prepared. The findings point to a gap leaders can act on: enthusiasm is already high, but training is almost absent, and that is where investment will pay off. They also show that health workers want AI as a partner, not a replacement, and that trust, ethics, and local relevance will decide whether tools succeed or stall. For hospital managers, policymakers, educators, and technology developers working in Ghana and similar settings, the study offers a practical starting point for building AI training programs, governance rules, and implementation plans around the people who will actually use the tools every day.

Perspectives