Acceptance and Use of Generative AI in Clinical Rehabilitation: An Interdisciplinary Survey of US Rehabilitation Professionals.

OBJECTIVE: To examine rehabilitation professionals' current clinical use and practice patterns of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and examine differences between users and nonusers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mixed-methods. SETTING: Online survey. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 408 professionals responded, with 264 complete surveys (64.7% completion) analyzed quantitatively and 311 valid open-ended responses analyzed qualitatively. The participants included occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, clinical exercise physiologists, and athletic trainers in the United States. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Researcher-designed survey based on the Technology Acceptance Model and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. RESULTS: Responses were received from all regions of the US, and were primarily occupational therapists (n=136, 51.5%) and women (n=214, 81.1%). Most participants identified as nonusers (n=154, 58.3%), whereas 41.6% (n=101) reported using GenAI some or most of the time. ChatGPT was the most common platform identified by all participants (n=241, 91.3%). GenAI was recognized by rehabilitation professionals as a tool to support patient care and administrative tasks. Users were significantly more likely than nonusers to perceive GenAI as useful in 5 of 7 domains (P<.001) and easy to use in 3 of 6 domains (P<.001). Logistic regression demonstrated that peer influence was the strongest predictor of use (P<.001, odds ratio 6.16, 95% CI, 2.94-12.93). CONCLUSIONS: Perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, and the social influence of peers significantly influence rehabilitation professionals' adoption and the use of GenAI within clinical practice.