Cognitive Dynamics Necessary for Social Workers and Their Relationship to Artificial Intelligence from a Preventive Perspective for Patients in Hospitals (Case Study)

This research aimed to determine how the knowledge possessed by social workers, enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, can be utilized to elevate the level of preventive care for patients in hospitals and improve its outcomes. The research findings indicated that AI can assist social workers in predicting potential health risks for patients early, improve their responsiveness to and in-depth understanding of patients' urgent needs, reduce their administrative burden, minimize human errors in preventive care, provide support to social workers in making decisions related to patient care, and aid in the effective follow-up of patient cases. Furthermore, the research aimed to identify the fundamental cognitive dynamics that social workers must possess to work effectively with AI tools to support and develop preventive care programs offered to patients in hospitals. The results highlighted the social worker's need to enhance their continuous self-learning skills to keep pace with developments in AI technologies, possess strong inferential skills to analyze data extracted from AI for accuracy assessment, be aware of technical and social challenges, have a deep understanding and evaluation of patients' needs, possess knowledge of laws and policies related to AI, and understand the risks associated with its use in preventive care. The research also aimed to analyze the technical and social obstacles faced by social workers in employing and adopting AI technologies in their daily professional practices to achieve preventive goals with patients within hospitals. The findings revealed the need to improve communication between social workers and AI developers, address concerns regarding the privacy and security of patients' personal data and the feeling of mistrust in accessing accurate data from AI, overcome the lack of specialized training and necessary financial resources, address the resistance of some social workers to adopting AI in their practice due to job loss concerns, and the need to increase societal awareness and understanding of the importance of AI in improving preventive care. The research proposed suggestions for integrating the knowledge possessed by social workers with AI technologies to enhance the quality of preventive care provided to patients in hospitals, including the establishment of interactive electronic platforms involving social workers and multidisciplinary teams, collaboration with universities and research institutions to develop AI tools specifically designed for social workers, and the provision of an ethical committee to establish clear standards and provide the necessary legal information for the safe use of AI in preventive patient care while ensuring the privacy of their data. Considering the results of the research dimensions, the overall average for all dimensions as determined by social workers reached (90.00%), which is a very high level.