Improving health care delivery in rural communities through the use of mobile phones : a case study in Windhoek

Poor health care delivery in rural communities is a major problem facing the health sector in Namibia. Patients who visit rural communities often wait on queues for several hours every day before they can be examined by a medical practitioner. This is detrimental to the health care process and impacts negatively on the efficiency and effectiveness of the sector. Mobile phones can however be employed as tools to improve work processes in such hospitals and as a result improve health care delivery in rural communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the health care services provided to patients at Outpatient Departments (OPDs) in rural hospitals through the use of data collection instruments such as interviews, questionnaires, document analysis, expert validation and photographs in order to compile a Mobile Health Service Framework (MHSF) to improve healthcare delivery processes in OPDs. From an interpretive paradigm perspective, the qualitative design was used together with a case study approach. Three hospitals in rural communities were used as case studies. These were Okuryangava Hospital, Katutura Hospital and Khomasdal Hospital. Interviews were conducted and questionnaires distributed to the participants. The findings revealed that there is a high concentration of mobile phone usage in rural communities and there is a high usage of the SMS feature on such mobile phones.ComputingM. Sc. (Computing

A Namibian digital health innovation ecosystem framework

Digital Health relates to “health information systems which enable the merging of social-care and healthcare systems. This would impact on the organisation, service delivery as well as the technological infrastructure” (Herselman & Botha, 2016, p.10). However, with relatively sparse research publications emanating from within the Namibian Health domain, and the concept of Namibian Digital Health as an emergent phenomenon, a Namibian Digital Health Innovation Ecosystem Framework would provide a start to conceptualising, developing and implementing such an ecosystem for Namibia and thus unlocking the potential of Digital Health in this country. The purpose of this study is to develop a Namibian Digital Health Innovation Ecosystem Framework based on literature reviews and the feedback from knowledgeable professionals (KPs) in Namibia, as well as global experts. The methodology which was applied in this study to address the purpose, and to answer the research questions, was Design Science Research Methodology and the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) process of Peffers, Tuunanen, Rothenberger and Chatterjee (2008), was adopted. Pragmatism is the overall philosophy guiding the study, as proposed by Ackoff’s theory regarding the hierarchy of human understanding (1989) and Shneiderman’s visual information seeking mantra (1996). During Phases 2 and 3 of the study interpretivism and positivism were applied as philosophies, guided by hermeneutics and triangulation, towards understanding the feedback of Knowledgeable Professionals (KPs) in Namibia, as well as the global experts. The study was divided into three phases. The first phase entailed a literature study which identified the components of Digital Health, Innovation and Digital Ecosystems as well as related research of Digital health, Innovation and Digital Ecosystems in developed and developing countries. This process led to the compilation of the initial Namibian Digital Health Innovation Ecosystem Framework using a conceptual approach. In the second phase of the study, the initial Namibian Digital Health Innovation Ecosystem was evaluated by KPs in Namibia using the Delphi method and interviews. Phase 2 adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings from Phase 2 resulted in the development of the intermediate Namibian Digital Health Innovation Ecosystem Framework. In Phase 3 of the study, the intermediate framework was validated by global experts. Feedback was collected from global experts through questionnaires which were analysed through qualitative content analysis. The findings, from Phase 3 led to the development of the final Namibian Digital Health Innovation Ecosystems Framework. The guidelines, which can be used by the Namibian government to implement the suggested digital health innovation ecosystem framework, were also provided.Information ScienceD. Litt. et Phil. (Information Systems

Personal Extreme Programming: Exploring Developers' Adoption

Personal Extreme Programming (PXP), evolving from the popular agile methodology, Extreme Programming (XP) and Personal Software Process (PSP), has been suggested as a methodology for autonomous developers who aim to incorporate the principles of XP in the development of software applications. However, there is limited research exploring the adoption of PXP. The purpose of this paper was to explore developers’ adoption of PXP. The constructs of Roger’s (1962) Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) Theory and Technology Acceptance Model were used to investigate developers’ adoption of PXP. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with developers who had experience in PXP practices. Although the findings revealed that PXP is beneficial in software development, the challenges of PXP in software projects include increased chances for errors and lack of skills diversity. Autonomous software developers should, however, evaluate their level of software development skills, experience and amount of work required when considering PXP as a software methodology

mHealth for Self-Management in Pregnancy: Identifying Essential Components for Women in Low-Resource Settings

Maternal health challenges constitute a major burden to healthcare systems in developing countries. The challenges of maternal health are more rampant in rural communities as compared to urban communities. Despite technological advancements such as mobile applications for healthcare (mHealth), there is a dearth of research conducted to support the development of self-management mHealth applications that address health challenges unique to maternal health in low-resource settings. The purpose of this study was to establish what essential components are required to develop self-management mHealth applications to support maternal health in low-resource settings. A qualitative approach was applied in this study. The study was conducted in three phases. The findings revealed components such as tools, activities and approaches for developing mHealth technologies to support self-management in pregnancy for women in low-resource settings. The findings of this study extended existing knowledge on what is known about mHealth for self-management in low-resource settings

mHealth for Self-Management During Pregnancy: Perceptions of Women in Low-Resource Settings

Mobile health (mHealth) has shown to be effective for self-management. While most studies point to mHealth as a tool to support healthcare in low-resource settings, it is not clear how women in low-resource settings perceive mHealth for self-management during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of women in low-resource settings on the use of mHealth for self-management during pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women in low-resource settings who owned mobile phones, understood English, and were above eighteen years of age. The interviews were analyzed and several themes emerged after analyzing the findings from interviews: awareness of mHealth for self-management, perceived benefits, barriers to adoption, improving adoption, the preferred approach for health in low-resource settings. The findings of this study extended existing knowledge on the perception, design considerations, challenges, and methods for improving adoption in terms of using mHealth technologies for self-management during pregnancy. The findings of this study provide researchers, mHealth app designers and developers, healthcare providers, and practitioners with information on how to improve the design of mHealth solutions and interventions for women in low-resource settings to support self-management during pregnanc

Digital health innovation ecosystems: from systematic literature review to conceptual framework

This paper reviews existing literature on digital health innovation ecosystems. It aims to explore the terms digital health, innovation and digital ecosystems to identify components towards presenting a conceptual framework for a digital health innovation ecosystem as part of a larger study. A systematic literature review was conducted on four academic databases: ACM, ScienceDirect, IEEE Xplore and SpringerLink. Due to the dearth in initial search results, the search was broadened to include non-academic publications and practitioner case reports. The study identified components of digital health, components of innovation relevant to the healthcare domain and components of digital ecosystems. It further suggests, within the context, a comprehensive definition of digital health innovation ecosystems. A conceptual framework for digital health innovation ecosystems is proposed. The findings from this study could conceivably be a step towards enabling a common understanding of practitioners, professionals and academics within the digital health domain as well as a basis for further studies on digital health innovation ecosystems

Undergraduate Students at a Namibian University: Perspectives Based on Technology Acceptance Model

This paper aimed at exploring predictors of digital library (DL) usage by undergraduate students at a Namibian University. Applying a quantitative research approach through which copies of a survey questionnaire were selfadministered, data was collected from 194 students and the study hypotheses tested by performing Pearson Chi-Square. The study found that a significant association exists between library training and use of digital library; library training and perceived usefulness of digital library; library training and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of digital library;  perceived usefulness and actual usage of a digital library and gender and PEOU. Additionally, the study found no evidence to suggest an association between computer efficacy of a user and perceived ease of use of digital library; between PEOU of digital library and perceived usefulness of digitallibrary and between age and PEOU. The study recommends training of library users on digital library so as to achieve optimal use of the DL resources and services