How can we use AI to integrate community health and social care responsibly and ethically?

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping health and social care by enabling data-driven decision-making across clinical, operational, and strategic domains. AI offers new opportunities for integrated care work across community-based prevention and hospital-based treatment. However, concerns around bias, equity, and sustainability remain. This workshop draws on the UK Government’s AI Playbook(1) to build understanding of responsible AI adoption, explore opportunities and challenges for integrated care, address ethical and equity considerations, and engage diverse stakeholders—including people with lived experience—in co-designing inclusive, value-based strategies.

Developed by a team with multidisciplinary backgrounds in public health, medicine, social care, and data science, the workshop is intended to stimulate discussions and reflections on the present and future use of AI in these fields. The presentation will incorporate patient and public perspectives throughout, and we will recruit two patient co-discussants through the local NHS trust, Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands, and the Public Health Research for Health (PHRESH) Consortium.

The workshop builds on the facilitators’ collective expertise in educating students and professionals in public health, social work, medicine, and related disciplines to enhance AI literacy and competence.

Approach: This 90-minute interactive workshop is designed for integrated care practitioners, researchers, policymakers, digital health innovators, and people with lived experience. It introduces key AI concepts and their applications through live polling, demonstrations, and group activities. Participants will engage with real-world examples (e.g., ambient voice tech, AI-assisted planning tools, conversational agents) and apply the PAIR (Problem, AI, Interaction, Reflection) framework(2) to critically assess AI-generated outputs. Facilitated discussions will explore ethical, governance, and equity considerations, with patient perspectives integrated throughout.

This 90-minute interactive workshop is structured into five phases:

• Introduction & Demonstration: Participants engage in live polling, explore definitions of AI, and review real-world examples in health and social care.
• Group Activity 1: Small groups discuss AI use cases (e.g., ambient voice tech, planning tools, conversational agents), focusing on ethical and equity implications.
• Led Session: Facilitators present cautionary case studies and guide reflection on responsible AI use.
• Group Activity 2: Participants apply the PAIR framework to evaluate an AI-generated strategy.
• Plenary Reflection: Whole-group discussion on practical, ethical, and strategic implications for integrated care.

Results: /Expected Outcomes: Participants will gain practical knowledge about current and emerging uses of AI in health and social care. They will explore patient and public perspectives, discuss ethical and governance considerations, and apply frameworks to assess AI-driven strategies. The workshop will provide actionable insights and a practical approach for responsibly integrating AI into diverse settings.

Implications: This workshop addresses the urgent need for responsible AI adoption in health and social care by equipping participants with a practical framework for critically evaluating AI applications. Participants will leave with enhanced AI understanding and actionable insights to guide ethical, sustainable, and value-based implementation of AI in diverse care settings.

References: 1. Government Digital Service. GOV.UK. 2025. Artificial Intelligence Playbook for the UK Government (HTML). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-playbook-for-the-uk-government/artificial-intelligence-playbook-for-the-uk-government-html

2. Acar OA. King’s College London. 2025. PAIR framework guidance. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/about/strategy/learning-and-teaching/ai-guidance/pair-framework-guidance