By Teresa Hicks

As emerging technologies transform patient education, nursing faculty are exploring how artificial intelligence can strengthen patient health literacy.

University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Assistant Professor and Director of SON Blazer Core Elizabeth Crooks, DNP, RN, CNE (DNP 2013), who also is a Board Member of the Rural Nurse Organization, recently presented at the International Rural Nurse Conference on how AI can support rural nurses by helping them simplify medical terminology to enhance understanding for patients.

Her interactive podium presentation, “Empowering Rural Nurses: Leveraging AI to Enhance Health Literacy and Promote Health Equity,” provided audience members with the opportunity to create AI prompts and critique AI-generated output when designing health information for individuals with low health literacy skills.

“Nurses who practice in rural communities are often constrained by limited resources,” Crooks said. “This makes developing health education materials, particularly for people with low literacy skills, a challenge.”

To address these limitations, Crooks described AI as a practical tool that enables rural nurses to develop patient-centered health education materials without compromising clinical expertise. She emphasized that AI is meant to support nurses’ work, not replace them.

“AI does not replace the nurse’s expertise; rather, it provides a draft for the nurse to work with,” she said. “This allows them to spend more time applying their expertise and less time searching for ways to more plainly explain health information.”

The conference brought together health care nurses, health professionals, researchers, educators and leaders to discuss a range of topics related to rural health, including historical contributions and evolving challenges.

Following the conference, Crooks was invited to provide a workshop for the Appalachian Regional Tri-State (ARTS) Chapter of the Rural Nurse Organization in February 2026, focusing on the use of AI to develop health education materials.

By integrating emerging technologies into patient education, Crooks’ work continues to strengthening the School’s leadership in health literacy and advancing nursing practice.