Qiaohong Guo

Aim: To explore the cultural challenges and complexities faced by researchers conducting studies with cancer patients in the Chinese cultural context. Design: A descriptive qualitative study. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 22 nurse researchers from tertiary hospitals, medical universities, and secondary nursing colleges from all six regions in China between April 2023 and December 2024. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke. Results: From the analysis, two themes were developed: (i) sociocultural factors, and (ii) strategies to navigate cultural complexities. Nearly all participants reported significant difficulties in conducting research with cancer patients, stemming not only from the vulnerability associated with a cancer diagnosis, but also from the cultural taboo surrounding cancer and death, and the influential role of family members in decision‐making and patient protection. Researchers emphasised the need to carefully balance family members' roles as gatekeepers, manage power dynamics with healthcare professionals, uphold patient autonomy, and communicate sensitively while maintaining research integrity. To address these challenges, participants recommended consulting family members before approaching patients, involving both patients and families throughout the research process, improving ethical training for researchers, and developing culturally sensitive ethical guidelines specific to China. Conclusions: Cultural traditions and norms play a significant role in shaping cancer research practices in China. Implications for the Profession: Developing culturally sensitive ethical guidelines specific to the Chinese context is essential to support research personnel and ensure the ethical integrity of cancer research. Impact: China's taboos surrounding cancer and death, and deeply embedded cultural traditions and norms, family‐centred decision‐making, and filial piety profoundly shape the conduct of research involving patients with cancer, particularly when a tension exists with universal ethical principles. Reporting Method: The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution.

Child mortality remains a global public health concern. In 2022, approximately 4.9 million children under the age of five died worldwide (UNICEF et al., 2024). In China, the infant mortality rate w...

While artificial intelligence's (AI's) transformative potential in health care is widely acknowledged, its application in highly sensitive, humanistic domains like pediatric palliative care (PPC) remains largely unexplored. This study aims to explore the attitudes and needs of health care providers on the PPC assisted by AI, with the goal of informing future development and implementation of AI systems in this field. This was an explanatory sequential mixed methods study consisting of a nationwide cross-sectional questionnaire survey (March-April 2025) followed by qualitative semistructured interviews (August-October 2025). The quantitative study aimed to investigate PPC health care providers' experiences, attitudes, and needs for the application of AI. Participants included team members of all recognized PPC teams in mainland China. The qualitative study aimed to explore in greater depth the potential future roles of AI in this field, as well as the features of an ideal AI-assisted tool for PPC. Potential interviewees were recruited from the pool of quantitative survey respondents. Among 352 survey respondents, most (n=205, 58.24%) reported moderate familiarity with AI, with large language models being the most commonly used (n=280, 79.55%). Among large language model users, over half (161/280, 57.50%) reported using them for clinical purposes. Attitudes were generally positive: 67.05% (236/352) believed AI's benefits would outweigh drawbacks, and 75% (264/352) considered its implementation feasible. The most desired applications were patient and family education (276/352, 78.41%) and symptom management (257/352, 73.01%). Interviews with 17 providers revealed three themes: (1) clinical roles and boundaries, (2) elements for clinical integration, and (3) challenges in development and deployment. This study reveals that PPC providers express positive attitudes and strong demand for AI-assisted clinical work. Furthermore, the research clarifies appropriate roles for AI, outlines elements for clinical integration, and highlights potential challenges in development and integration. This study provides evidence for the feasibility of AI application in PPC and offers guidance for the future development and deployment of AI tools.

BACKGROUND While artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) transformative potential in health care is widely acknowledged, its application in highly sensitive, humanistic domains like pediatric palliative care (PPC) remains largely unexplored. OBJECTIVE This study aims to explore the attitudes and needs of health care providers on the PPC assisted by AI, with the goal of informing future development and implementation of AI systems in this field. METHODS This was an explanatory sequential mixed methods study consisting of a nationwide cross-sectional questionnaire survey (March-April 2025) followed by qualitative semistructured interviews (August-October 2025). The quantitative study aimed to investigate PPC health care providers’ experiences, attitudes, and needs for the application of AI. Participants included team members of all recognized PPC teams in mainland China. The qualitative study aimed to explore in greater depth the potential future roles of AI in this field, as well as the features of an ideal AI-assisted tool for PPC. Potential interviewees were recruited from the pool of quantitative survey respondents. RESULTS Among 352 survey respondents, most (n=205, 58.24%) reported moderate familiarity with AI, with large language models being the most commonly used (n=280, 79.55%). Among large language model users, over half (161/280, 57.50%) reported using them for clinical purposes. Attitudes were generally positive: 67.05% (236/352) believed AI’s benefits would outweigh drawbacks, and 75% (264/352) considered its implementation feasible. The most desired applications were patient and family education (276/352, 78.41%) and symptom management (257/352, 73.01%). Interviews with 17 providers revealed three themes: (1) clinical roles and boundaries, (2) elements for clinical integration, and (3) challenges in development and deployment. CONCLUSIONS This study reveals that PPC providers express positive attitudes and strong demand for AI-assisted clinical work. Furthermore, the research clarifies appropriate roles for AI, outlines elements for clinical integration, and highlights potential challenges in development and integration. This study provides evidence for the feasibility of AI application in PPC and offers guidance for the future development and deployment of AI tools. CLINICALTRIAL