ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
Digital health information-seeking behaviors and trust in AI-based physician chatbots among patients with hypertension: a cross-sectional survey in Saudi Arabia.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: Hypertension requires sustained self-management beyond routine clinical encounters, yet evidence on how patients engage with digital health information and what shapes their trust in AI-based physician chatbots remains limited, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Aim: This study examined digital health information-seeking behaviors, information verification practices, and perceptions of AI-based physician chatbots among adults diagnosed with hypertension in Saudi Arabia and tested a theoretically grounded model linking six constructs to chatbot safety and trust. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 322 adults with hypertension recruited through WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook patient groups. A structured questionnaire measured six constructs Information Validation Sources (IVS), Digital Self-Diagnosis Tools (DSDT), Online Information-Seeking Behavior (OISB), Familiarity with MOH Digital Services (FMOHDS), Perceived Reliability of Self-Assessment (PRISA), and Chatbot Safety and Trust (CST) adapted from past studies. Internal consistency, descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, bootstrapping and Kruskal-Wallis group comparisons were performed. Results: All constructs scored above the scale midpoint ( Conclusion: Trust in AI-based physician chatbots among hypertensive patients is positively shaped by institutional familiarity with MOH digital services and perceived reliability of self-assessment tools and negatively influenced by active independent digital health engagement. The mediating effect of PRISA on FMOHDS and CST suggests that building institutional trust in existing digital infrastructure is a prerequisite for effective AI chatbot adoption. These findings have direct implications for the design of AI-enabled hypertension management strategies within Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 digital health agenda.
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