Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions, Anxieties, and Concerns Regarding AI Adoption in Human Resources and Employee Retention in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated healthcare professionals’ perceptions, anxieties, and concerns regarding the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in human resources (HR) practices and examined their influence on HR practices in healthcare institutions across South-Western Nigeria. A quantitative survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 600 healthcare professionals drawn equally from Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti States. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. Demographic results showed that 53.0% of respondents were female, 40.0% were aged 41–50 years, and 77.0% had over 11 years of work experience, while 51.3% possessed a bachelor’s degree in healthcare. Correlation analysis revealed a positive and significant relationship between healthcare professionals’ perceptions and HR practices (r = .453, p < .05), anxieties and HR practices (r = .687, p < .05), and concerns and HR practices (r = .374, p < .05). Multiple regression results indicated a strong joint effect of healthcare professionals’ perceptions, anxieties, and concerns on HR practices (R = .699, R² = .489, p < .05), explaining approximately 49% of the variance. Anxiety emerged as the strongest predictor (β = .630), followed by healthcare professionals’ perceptions (β = .195) and concerns (β = .088). The study concludes that AI adoption significantly influences HR practices in healthcare institutions, with healthcare professionals’ anxieties playing a critical role. The study recommends targeted training, awareness programmes, and supportive policies to reduce anxieties and enhance effective AI integration in healthcare HR systems.