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Ahmed Binesmael, senior improvement analyst at the Health Foundation (Credit: Health Foundation)
Women, younger adults and people on low incomes are less positive about the use of technology and AI in healthcare, according to research by the Health Foundation.
The think tank carried out an online survey through Censuswide between 30 July and 1 October 2025, which gathered the views of 8,000 members of the UK public aged over 16-years-old, and 2,027 NHS staff members.
It found that 55% of the overall public said that the use of technology in healthcare improves quality of care, while 13% believed that technology makes care worse.
However the belief that technology improves care was lower in certain demographics, at 51% of women, 48% of 16-24-year-olds and 40% of those in households where the main earner is in casual work or unemployed.
Ahmed Binesmael, senior improvement analyst at the Health Foundation, said: “Our findings show support for technology and AI in health care is not evenly distributed, and highlight where more research is needed.
“As AI and technology become a bigger part of the NHS, understanding people’s differing perspectives will be crucial.”
Caution on AI
Around three quarters of the public surveyed said that they would be happy to use the NHS App for functions such as booking hospital appointments (76%), choosing a preferred hospital (73%) and accessing information about procedures (73%).
However, there was more caution about the use of AI with just 38% of the public saying that they believed it could improve quality of care, while 19% believe that it makes care worse.
Only 35% of people in households where the main earner is in casual work or unemployed would be willing to use an AI-powered virtual assistant on the NHS App, compared to 49% of the overall public.
Binesmael said: “Our findings show the public supports using the NHS App to manage many everyday health care tasks but is more cautious about AI-generated advice.
“Meaningful engagement with the public will be essential to get this right – particularly with those that are more sceptical – to ensure new tools meet patient needs and reduce, rather than reinforce, inequalities.”
The public consistently prioritised safety, human oversight and robust regulation of AI over speed or convenience, with 70% preferring AI outputs to be checked by a human over speed of results, and 72% wanting strong evidence requirements even if it slows the rollout of new AI tools.
“While an effective regulatory framework may well be able to balance speed, safety and other principles, our findings suggest the public currently prioritises stronger diligence and safeguards over potential benefits such as speed or availability,” Binesmael added.
NHS staff support
The survey found that support for the use of technology was higher among NHS staff than the general public with 60% saying that it improves quality of care.
However the percentage of staff which believe the technology makes quality of care worse has risen to 19% from 6% in The Health Foundation’s 2024 survey, at the expense of those saying it will make no difference.
NHS staff support for the use of AI was also higher than in the general public, with 57% believing that it improves quality of care and 10% believing that it makes care worse.