Impact of cognitive workload and situation awareness on clinicians’ willingness to use an artificial intelligence system in clinical practice

Determinants of technology acceptance are multifaceted, particularly for artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. Using AI might impact users' cognitive workload and situation awareness. This study explores the moderating effect of clinicians' situation awareness and workload on the interaction between trust, risk, and intent to use an AI-based decision support system known as the blood utilization calculator (BUC). The study took place at an academic hospital in Wisconsin, US. A purposeful sampling strategy was utilized to recruit 119 BUC users. The data was collected via an online validated survey. The study leveraged Hayes PROCESS to capture the moderation effect of situation awareness and cognitive workload on the relationship between perceived risk and trust. The study also reports the significant impact of situation awareness (positively) and cognitive workload (negatively) on intent to use BUC. Adding to the body of knowledge, our study advocates for minimal cognitive workload and optimal situation awareness in healthcare.