The impact of innovativeness on Chinese nurses’ attitudes toward artificial intelligence: a cross-sectional study based on the technology acceptance model

BACKGROUND: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in nursing practice holds transformative potential for healthcare. For these advancements to be successfully incorporated into nursing, nurses need to develop positive attitudes toward adopting AI technologies. This study aims to profile Chinese nurses’ attitudes toward AI and explore the factors. And introduce NI as a critical antecedent, constructing and validating a chain mediation model involving PEOU and PU, thereby advancing the TAM framework. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 765 nurses from four Chinese hospitals. Data analysis included non-parametric tests, Spearman’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and chain mediation testing (using SPSS PROCESS Model 6). RESULTS: ‘The study found that nurses’ attitudes toward AI adoption were significantly influenced by their job hierarchy, knowledge of AI, and perceptions of AI’s importance, usefulness (PU), and ease of use (PEOU), along with frequency of AI usage and nurses’ innovativeness (NI) (p