Occupational health information systems for health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

Systematizing Information Use to Address Determinants of Health Worker Health in South Africa: A Cross-sectional Mixed Method Study

“…This study constitutes the first part of a quasi-experimental intervention, utilising a mixed methods approach to examine changes in healthcare workplace management systems (infrastructure, technology and information management) accompanying the implementation of an OHIS intervention, so that it can then be systematically applied and monitored with regard to improving OSH in HW workplaces. Here we discuss the pre-intervention findings collected through a cross-sectional survey to assess the perceived value of implementing a comprehensive OHIS capable of monitoring health determinants as well as the degree to which occupational health information is currently used to inform decision-making by OSH stakeholders in the healthcare sector, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 44 ]. The main objective of this article is to determine the degree to which OSH stakeholders in hospital settings in South Africa are satisfied with current occupational health relevant information practices, and to serve as a baseline upon which to evaluate implementation of a system to promote comprehensive evidence-based management of OSH challenges in the health care sector.…”