Participatory Health and Artificial Intelligence: A Literature Review

Introduction: Participatory Health (PH) emerges as a consequence of the rise of the internet, which has led to a patient-centered approach. Participatory Health Informatics (PHI) uses information technologies and evaluates the use of tools. The emergence of new Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques represents a great advance for PH. The objective of this article is to study the facilitators and opportunities that AI offers to PH, but also the challenges and barriers it faces. Methods: A literature review on barriers and facilitators of AI in PH was conducted, including articles published in the last 10 years. Results: 38 articles were eventually selected for review. Several aspects and applications of AI in PH were identified, including health domains and types of participation; types of AI used; reported barriers and challenges; facilitators and opportunities; impact on participatory health; and ethical, legal and patient safety considerations. Discussion and conclusion: 6 main thematic areas of interaction between AI and PHI were identified. There is a wide variety of applications, with special impact on predictive analysis, the management of healthcare data and conversational agents. Legal and privacy issues are seen as the main barriers for the use of AI in PHI, whereas improving diagnostic accuracy, optimizing patient flow, and patient empowerment are considered the main opportunities.