Johtajien näkemyksiä tekoälyn hyödyntämisestä ja siihen liittyvistä haasteista ikääntyneiden kotiin vietävissä palveluissa

Katariina Grotenfelt; Suvi Kuha; Mira Hammarén; Outi Kanste

doi:10.23996/fjhw.147506

Authors

Katariina Grotenfelt Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu
Suvi Kuha Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3344-9333
Mira Hammarén Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2132-9812
Outi Kanste Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu; Medical Research Center, Oulu, Oulu university hospital, University of Oulu, Oulu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8634-0628

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23996/fjhw.147506

Keywords:

artificial intelligence, aged, home care services, social welfare, healthcare, managers

Abstract

The growing demand for elderly services presents new challenges for social welfare and healthcare and highlights the importance of cost-effective and innovative solutions, such as using artificial intelligence (AI). However, the implementation of AI involves challenges related to expertise, usability, and data security from both the older people and professional perspectives.

The study aims to describe social welfare and healthcare managers' evaluations of using AI and related challenges in home services for older people. The study employed a cross-sectional design, using an electronic questionnaire. Sixty-eight social welfare and healthcare managers from five social welfare and healthcare joint municipal authorities and fifteen municipalities or cities across Finland participated in the survey. The data was analyzed using frequency and percentage distributions, mean and standard deviation, and Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

According to the results, a large proportion of social welfare and healthcare managers evaluate their own management competency related to the use of AI as weak or moderate. Less than half of them consider that they have received sufficient training on using AI in their work. Most managers consider that AI can improve the quality of home services and reduce the chance of mistakes in customer work. Managers evaluate that AI will change the role of the manager and will provide timely information to support management. One fifth of managers evaluate that solutions based on AI pose significant risks to customer work. Around half evaluated AI related accountability issues challenging. A third of managers consider AI to be weak in identifying the diverse needs of customers.

In conclusion, the managers' evaluations of AI in home services for older people were overall quite positive, and they believed in the potential of AI. Deficiencies were found in managers' self-assessed AI-related management competency. The use of AI poses challenges for management regarding time management, defining responsibilities and managing risks in customer work. AI has the potential to improve service quality, reduce the possibility of mistakes and provide information to support management work. The use of AI will change the role of managers in home services for older people.