Tracking AI/LLM Literacy and Knowledge in Urology Outpatients (TALK-U) (TALK-U)

The TALK-U Study: Tracking AI/LLM Knowledge and Use in Urology Outpatients and Its Association With Anxiety, Satisfaction, and Health Awareness-A Cross-Sectional Study

This study is a one-time, questionnaire-based survey of adults attending a urology outpatient clinic. The investigators will examine whether patients who use AI chat tools based on large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, before seeking care differ from non-users in (1) anxiety, (2) satisfaction with the clinic visit, and (3) awareness/understanding of their health condition.

Participants who provide written informed consent will complete a brief survey during their clinic visit (about 5-7 minutes). The survey includes a standardized anxiety scale (GAD-7), visual analog scales (0-10) for anxiety before and after the visit, satisfaction, and disease awareness, as well as questions about AI/LLM knowledge and use. Treating clinicians will not have access to participants' survey responses, and participation will not affect clinical care.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Anxiety; Health Information Seeking Behavior

Detailed Description

The TALK-U study is a cross-sectional, observational survey conducted in the urology outpatient clinic of Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital. The primary exposure is self-reported AI/LLM knowledge and use for health information (e.g., whether participants have used ChatGPT or similar tools, frequency, awareness of AI, and purpose of use). The primary outcome is anxiety measured by GAD-7 at the time of the clinic encounter. Secondary outcomes include (i) anxiety assessed on a 0-10 visual analog scale before and after the visit, (ii) outpatient visit satisfaction (0-10 VAS), and (iii) perceived disease awareness/understanding (0-10 VAS).

Eligible adult first-time urology outpatients who can complete the survey independently and provide informed consent will be invited during a 2-month recruitment period. Analyses will compare outcomes between AI/LLM users and non-users and explore associations with age group (<40, 40-60, >60), education level, and urology subspecialty category. Data will be analyzed using appropriate parametric/nonparametric tests depending on distribution, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 400

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Tuncel Uzel, MD; Phone Number: 5622 +90 312 336 09 09; Email: tunceluzelmd@gmail.com
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Mehmet Duvarcı, MD; Phone Number: 5616 +90 312 336 09 09; Email: mehmet_duvarci@hotmail.com

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Yenimahalle/Ankara
    • Ankara, Yenimahalle/Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye), 06200
      • Dr.Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Research and Training Hospital
      • Contact: Tuncel Uzel, MD; Phone Number: 5622 +90 312 336 09 09; Email: tunceluzelmd@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult patients (≥18 years) presenting for a first-time visit to the Urology Outpatient Clinic at Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital will be invited to participate during a 2-month recruitment period. Participants who provide written informed consent and can complete a brief questionnaire independently will be enrolled. The study will include both sexes and a broad range of urologic presenting complaints.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 years or older
• First-time visit to the Urology Outpatient Clinic
• Able to read and write and complete the questionnaire independently
• Able to provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age under 18 years
• Insufficient literacy to understand and complete the questionnaire
• Severe hearing or visual impairment, or a neurological/psychiatric condition that prevents understanding and completing the survey
• Refusal or inability to provide informed consent
• Currently under follow-up for a known urologic condition (i.e., not a first-time urology outpatient visit)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
AI/LLM users; Participants who report prior use of AI chat tools based on large language models (e.g., ChatGPT or similar) for health information before the outpatient urology visit, as assessed by the study questionnaire.
non AI/LLM users; Participants who report no prior use of AI/LLM chat tools (e.g., ChatGPT or similar) for health information before the outpatient urology visit, as assessed by the study questionnaire.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pre-visit Anxiety (VAS 0-10)	Self-rated anxiety on a 0-10 visual analog scale (VAS), where 0 indicates no anxiety and 10 indicates the highest possible anxiety. This measure reflects visit-related state anxiety prior to clinician encounter.	Day 0 (immediately before the outpatient visit)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Post-visit Anxiety (VAS 0-10)	Self-rated anxiety on a 0-10 VAS (0 = none, 10 = highest).	Day 0 (immediately after the outpatient visit)
Visit Satisfaction (VAS 0-10)	Self-rated satisfaction with the outpatient visit on a 0-10 VAS (0 = not satisfied at all, 10 = maximum satisfaction).	Day 0 (immediately after the outpatient visit)
Disease Awareness/Understanding (VAS 0-10)	Self-rated awareness/understanding of one's condition on a 0-10 VAS (0 = none, 10 = complete).	Day 0 (during the outpatient clinic visit)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Baseline General Anxiety Symptoms (GAD-7 Total Score)	Total score on the 7-item GAD-7 questionnaire (range 0-21; higher scores indicate greater generalized anxiety symptoms). This measure will be used to account for baseline anxiety (trait-like symptoms) and to adjust analyses of VAS-based state anxiety out	Day 0 (at enrollment; prior to or during the clinic visit)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Dr Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 24, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 24, 2025
• First Posted (Estimated): January 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 9, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 8, 2026
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Patient satisfaction; Anxiety; Artificial intelligence; ChatGPT; Health information seeking; Gemini; Large language model (LLM)
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavior; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Health Behavior; Anxiety Disorders; Patient Satisfaction
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2025-06/98

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No