Attitudes and Readiness for Artificial Intelligence Adoption Among Nursing Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Fawaz Alatawi,1 Ali Kerari2 1Community and Public Health Nursing, Ministry of Health, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; 2Nursing Administration and Education Department, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Ali Kerari, Nursing Administration and Education Department, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected]: Although artificial intelligence (AI) has garnered increasing attention in education and healthcare, examining the attitude and readiness of future nurses toward AI integration is crucial for creating successful curricula and promoting appropriate utilization of this technology.Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 227 nursing students at King Saud University using two validated instruments: the General Attitudes toward Artificial Intelligence Scale and the Medical Artificial Intelligence Readiness Scale for Medical Students. Responses were recorded using a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including t-tests and correlation analyses, were employed to examine differences across study variables.Results: Of the 227 participants, 48% (n = 109) were aged 18– 24 years. Majority participants were women (60.4%, n = 137), and 39.6% (n = 90) were men. Nursing students generally demonstrated moderately positive attitudes toward AI. However, an independent-sample t-test indicated that women exhibited more negative attitudes toward AI than men (p = 0.013), and part-time students demonstrated a greater level of AI readiness than full-time students (p = 0.018). No significant differences were observed based on age, marital status, academic level, and/or training/experience. Significant positive correlations were identified between positive and negative attitudes and AI readiness.Conclusion: The findings of this study may help nursing colleges to incorporate AI into their curricula. However, the study’s cross-sectional design, single site setting, and short duration limit causal inference and generalizability.Keywords: AI technologies, healthcare, nursing students, attitudes, readiness