Nicky Mostert-Phipps

A Socio-technical Perspective on the Use of Mobile Phones for Remote Data Collection in Home Community Based Care in Developing Countries

The adoption of technology into the health care industry has been criticized as being overtly techno-centric. It is assumed that health information technologies will fit into the environment and be easily adopted by the user. This, however, is a fallacy. Research has shown that a socio-technical approach, optimizing the interaction between the relevant social, environmental and technical sub-systems, is preferred. In this paper, a socio-technical perspective is gained on the adoption of health information technologies in the home community based care context, specifically the use of mobile phones for remote data collection. Based on data gathered through interviews with and observations of caregivers administering care in the community, this paper identifies and discusses the social, environmental and technical factors that affect community health care workers while they are using mobile phones to capture patient data in the home community based care environment in developing countries.

A South African perspective on factors that impact on the adoption and meaningful use of health information technologies

Abstract Objective: Various benefits are associated with the adoption and meaningful use of health information technologies (HITs) in the healthcare sector. Despite the associated advantages with the adoption and use of HITs, the South African healthcare sector has been slow to adopt HITs, such as electronic record systems. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that should be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare landscape. Design: A three-round Delphi study was conducted to identify such factors. Setting and subjects: The Delphi panel included 21 participants who were considered to be suitably knowledgeable about the acceptance and significant use of HITs in the context of the South African healthcare setting. Results: A total of 58 factors were uncovered by the participants. Consensus was reached on 42 factors that were considered to have a direct to significant impact on the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare sector. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight factors that should be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in South Africas healthcare setting. These results indicate that a wide range of factors need to be addressed and involve a multitude of stakeholders.

Mini workshop — Real World Engineering Projects: Discovery-based curriculum modules for first-year students

This mini workshop is organized to provide an interactive forum for the introduction of a set of five new curriculum modules developed under IEEEs Real World Engineering Projects (RWEP) program. The modules, which are representative of a larger collection of curriculum modules available to the public via an open-access RWEP web portal, are designed for use in the first-year engineering and computer science classroom, and are hands-on, team-based projects that emphasize the societal impact of the work that engineers do. After a brief introduction to the RWEP program and the five showcased curriculum modules, the authors of the modules will work one-on-one with the audience providing tutorials on the laboratory activities associated with their modules in a highly interactive, simultaneous mode.