BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence and digital health technologies may strengthen Infection Prevention and Control through enhanced surveillance, decision-making, and workforce training. However, global evidence on their uptake and perceived usefulness among IPC professionals remains limited. METHODS: This cross-sectional online survey coordinated by the World Health Organization between 21 March and 17 April 2025 assessed awareness, adoption, perceived usefulness, barriers, and facilitators related to AI-enabled and digital technologies in IPC. Descriptive analyses used item-specific denominators. Technology use analyses were restricted to current users, while perception-based analyses included all respondents answering each item. Likert-scale usefulness items were analysed as ordinal variables using medians and interquartile ranges (IQRs). RESULTS: Of 444 responses received across the six WHO regions, 441 were valid for analysis. Most respondents reported some familiarity with AI and digital technologies, although only 24.5% reported current use and 6.8% reported formal training. Among current users, the most frequently reported technologies were AI-based analysis for IPC research, semi-automatic surveillance systems, AI-supported teaching tools, and AI-based antimicrobial resistance detection tools. Perceived usefulness was generally favourable, with a median score of 4 (IQR 2) for eight of nine assessed applications; environmental disinfection scored lower (median 3, IQR 3). The main reported barriers were lack of training and skills (74.4%), limited funding (71.4%), and integration challenges with existing systems (43.3%). CONCLUSIONS: This global IPC survey identified a substantial gap between awareness and routine implementation of AI-enabled and digital technologies. Adoption remains limited despite favourable perceptions, highlighting workforce capacity, funding, and system integration as the principal implementation constraints.
Gastaldi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.