Knowledge, exposure, and ethical concerns regarding artificial Intelligence among nursing students: a multinational cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated in health-professions education, However, nursing students' knowledge of AI and their ethical concerns regarding AI use in different national settings are largely unknown. This study aimed to assess nursing students' self-reported knowledge of and exposure to AI, and their ethical concerns about its use in nursing education. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,177 nursing students from six countries (United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan; two additional respondents from Oman were excluded from country-level comparisons) assessed AI knowledge/exposure and ethical concerns using two Likert-scale domains. Results: Mean Knowledge & Exposure score (3.30 ± 0.75) and mean Ethical Concerns score (3.39 ± 0.64) were each significantly above the theoretical midpoint of 3 (both P < 0.001), indicating self-rated knowledge that leans positive alongside moderate-to-elevated ethical concern. Female students reported significantly higher ethical concern than male students (3.54 vs 3.32,P< 0.001) but did not differ in knowledge/exposure (P = 0.60). Conclusion: Nursing students across the surveyed countries report a moderate AI knowledge alongside meaningful ethical concern. Curriculum planning for AI content should be tailored to national/institutional context rather than assuming a single regional attitude.