Caregivers’ experiences of using an artificial intelligence-based system for paediatric asthma family management: a qualitative study

Abstract Paediatric asthma management relies heavily on sustained family care, yet conventional models are often limited by gaps in caregivers’ knowledge and inequities in access to medical resources. While artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a novel tool for chronic disease management, its influence on everyday caregiving remains underexplored. This study investigates how an AI-based ‘Children’s Family Doctor’ system reshapes the habitual family practices (habitus) of paediatric asthma management and identifies the key socio-technical factors that shape its implementation. We conducted a qualitative study using reflexive thematic analysis. Seventeen primary caregivers of children with asthma were recruited from a tertiary hospital in China via purposive sampling between June and July 2025. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted, and we analysed the data using NVivo software, informed by Bourdieu’s theory of habitus. Five major themes emerged: (1) Functional utility: the AI system enhanced efficiency in mild-symptom management and health education; (2) Usage barriers: caregivers faced human–AI interaction difficulties, system fragmentation, trust and privacy concerns, an intergenerational digital divide, and a lack of emotional support; (3) Habitus reconstruction: family management practices shifted from an experience-dependent routine to a data-driven and intelligently collaborative mode; (4) Influencing factors: the depth of AI integration depended on technological maturity, family digital literacy, disease severity, and physician endorsement; (5) Improvement needs: caregivers expressed a need for optimised interaction design, robust data security, and multi-stakeholder ecosystem synergy. The AI-based system shows considerable potential to reshape the habitus of family asthma management by enhancing caregivers’ health literacy and decision support. However, to ensure sustainable and equitable implementation, future digital health interventions must address socio-technical barriers, bridge the intergenerational digital divide, and balance technological innovation with humanistic care.