Awareness of using chatbots and factors influencing usage intention among nursing students in South Korea: a descriptive study

PURPOSE: Artificial intelligence (AI) has had a profound impact on humanity; in particular, chatbots have been designed for interactivity and applied to many aspects of daily life. Chatbots are also regarded as an innovative modality in nursing education. This study aimed to identify nursing students' awareness of using chatbots and factors influencing their usage intention. METHODS: This study, which employed a descriptive design using a self-reported questionnaire, was conducted at three university nursing schools located in Seoul, South Korea. The participants were 289 junior and senior nursing students. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires, both online via a Naver Form and offline. RESULTS: The total mean score of awareness of using chatbots was 3.49±0.61 points out of 5. The mean scores of the four dimensions of awareness of using chatbots were 3.37±0.60 for perceived value, 3.66±0.73 for perceived usefulness, 3.83±0.73 for perceived ease of use, and 3.36±0.87 for intention to use. Significant differences were observed in awareness of using chatbots according to satisfaction with nursing (p<.001), effectiveness of using various methods for nursing education (p<.001), and interest in chatbots (p<.001). The correlations among the four dimensions ranged from .52 to .80. In a hierarchical regression analysis, perceived value (β=.45) accounted for 60.2% of variance in intention to use. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that chatbots have the potential to be used in nursing education. Further research is needed to clarify the effectiveness of using chatbots in nursing education.