Adaptation of Future Physiotherapists to the Artificial Intelligence Era: Artificial Intelligence Attitude, Acceptance and Digital Competence

Rapid developments in digitalization and artificial intelligence technologies have caused significant changes in the way healthcare services are provided. Today, artificial intelligence-supported applications are actively used in many areas in the healthcare field, from early diagnosis of diseases to treatment, from patient follow-up to personalized care planning. In disciplines where clinical decision-making processes are important, such as physiotherapy and rehabilitation, digital tools and artificial intelligence systems are integrated into the field with motion analysis, exercise tracking, rehabilitation robots, virtual reality-based treatments and artificial intelligence-supported mobile applications. This technological transformation affects not only professional practice but also vocational education. The digital competence levels of university students receiving health education, their capacity to adopt technology and their attitudes towards artificial intelligence are of critical importance in terms of both their individual professional development and post-graduation service quality. Understanding how ready physiotherapy students in particular are for the digital transformation process will guide both the restructuring of educational programs and the harmonization of the profession with technological developments. Studies have shown that health sciences students generally have access to digital tools, but they experience various inadequacies in using these tools effectively and consciously. In addition, it is reported that individuals who develop a positive attitude towards artificial intelligence adapt to these technologies faster and achieve more efficient results in education and clinical practices. However, the number of holistic studies in the literature, especially those specific to physiotherapy students, where artificial intelligence attitudes, technology acceptance and digital competence levels are evaluated together, is quite limited.

Therefore, the rationale of this research is to evaluate the digital competence levels of physiotherapy students, their attitudes towards artificial intelligence and their tendency to accept artificial intelligence technologies, to evaluate their adaptation processes to digitalization in the health field and to produce scientific data that will contribute to educational policies, course content and clinical practice strategies in this context.

The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the digital competence levels of physiotherapy undergraduate students, their attitudes towards artificial intelligence and their tendency to accept artificial intelligence technologies. In addition, by examining the possible relationships between these three variables, it is aimed to reveal to what extent students have developed their professional competencies in the age of digital transformation and artificial intelligence. In this context, the data to be obtained will contribute to the determination of educational needs for digital literacy and artificial intelligence-based applications in the field of health; and will pave the way for understanding the level of adaptation of future physiotherapists to technological developments.