Health communication plays a very important role in public health, acting as a connection between
healthcare providers and the general population. South East Nigeria which faces numerous health
communication challenges, including limited access to healthcare information, language diversity,
and varying levels of health literacy, the introduction of AI technologies has the potential to address
these issues by enhancing communication channels, providing personalized health information, and
improving overall healthcare outcomes. Recently, the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) in
various sectors has sparked considerable interest and debate and as AI applications have become
more dominant in the world healthcare landscape, it is important to understand their specific impact
on health communication within various regions. Therefore, this research aims to assess the
perceptual influence of artificial intelligence on health communication within South East Nigeria, an
area characterized by some healthcare challenges and communication differences, whose objectives
are to: identify the prevalent AI technologies and applications in health communication in Nigeria;
evaluate the effectiveness of AI-driven health communication interventions in South East Nigeria;
and understand the perceptions of healthcare providers and the general public towards AI in health
communication in South East Nigeria. The study anchors on two media theories which are Media
Ecology Theory and Technology Acceptance Model, and used survey research method, that is, the
Quantitative (Questionnaire) research methods. This study provided an understanding of the
influence of AI on health communication in South East Nigeria as well as contributed to the ongoing
global discourse on the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare and its implications for
public health communication.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI), influence, Health communication, Information, Technology,
Healthcare providers, NLP