Telemedicine use in Sub-Saharan Africa: Barriers and policy recommendations for Covid-19 and beyond

Dodoo, Joana Eva; Al-Samarraie, Hosam; Alzahrani, Ahmed Ibrahim

doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104467

Cited by 54 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Such findings affirm that an ODeL institution, as well as any other South African university, does well in establishing an ICT infrastructure for its employees and academics, for purposes of educational processing (Anifowoshe et al, 2020;Makgahlela et al, 2021). The above might indicate that South African universities tend to be the forerunners in terms of providing facilities and infrastructures on the African continent (Dodoo, Al-Samarraie & Alzahrani, 2021;Phale, Fanglin, Adjei Mensah, Omari-Sasu & Musah, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

The Contribution of Information and Communication Technology to Social Inclusion and Exclusion during the Appropriation of Open Educational Resources

Mncube

Tanner

Chigona

2021

IJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The information and communication technology (ICT) comprehends with the adoption and the development of open educational resources (OER) in the educational spheres. The vast existing body of knowledge portrays several positive aspects of ICT, as it is an enabler in various domains. Hence, the combination of ICT and OER negative aspects have been, as yet, under-investigated. This study aimed to investigate both the social inclusion and the social exclusion of ICT with users appropriating of OER in open distance e-learning (ODeL) institutions. The qualitative approach was used to interpret the inclusion and exclusion factors concerned. The Model of Technology Appropriation was applied as a main theoretical underpinning of the study. The study findings show that ICT has both positive and negative impacts on the appropriation of OER. The various impacts are mostly recognisable in those developing countries where inequalities still exist, as some of the findings postulate that the innovation that is enabled through the utilisation of ICT tends to favour a select minority of rich people. For many students, ICT continues to perpetuate social exclusion. ICT innovation, including OER, has yet to fully support societal needs. Instead, it continues to promote the agendas of the global north. The study recommends the development initiatives to close the current gaps which contribute to the social exclusion. For instance, the installation of fibre optic in most deprived townships and villages can assist in eliminating inequalities associated with ICT infrastructure.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

The Contribution of Information and Communication Technology to Social Inclusion and Exclusion during the Appropriation of Open Educational Resources

Mncube

Tanner

Chigona

2021

IJHE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Cultural misalignment between IT and healthcare providers [ 31 ] Cross-sectional Botswana Teleconsultation Low levels of computer literacy, unstable electrical power, lack of clinical and technical expertise, poor acceptance of the services by the users. [ 32 ] Review Africa Teleeducation, teleconsultation, teledermatology, teleradiology, telecardiology, teleophtamology, teleoncology, and telepsychiatry Technological, organization barriers, legal and regulatory barriers, financial barriers such as limited medical budget, high cost of telemedicine and ICT infrastructure, high tariffs on telecommunication and import duties, and high cost of electricity supply, maintenance cost, high cost of telemedicine services and lack of funding. Cultural barriers such as digital divide, digital illiteracy, awareness gap, socio-cultural differences, perceptions, and resistance to change.…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Table 1 shows that several countries in Africa have been utilizing telemedicine to provide virtual care while reducing secondary transmission and minimizing in-person care. Several reviews conducted by different authors including [ 20 , 28 , 32 , 40 , 48 , 49 ] reflect that telemedicine can substantially improve the quality of healthcare even under COVID-19 restrictions and measures. This study reveals that telemedicine can be used for various purposes such as telemonitoring, teleconsultation, tele-diagnosing, tele-screening and establishing real-time communication between healthcare professionals and COVID-19 patients in quarantine facilities, self-isolation centers and at home, as shown in Fig.…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several reviews, perspectives and commentaries included in this study show that telemedicine can potentially transform health systems to reduce the burden on healthcare professionals and also minimize the risk of exposure to the virus. Virtual healthcare services such as otolaryngologic practice during COVID-19 [ 26 ], teledermatology [ 31 ], tele-education, teleconsultation, teleradiology, telecardiology, teleophtamology, teleoncology, and telepsychiatry [ 32 ], teleneurology [ 35 ] and telerheumatology [ 51 ]. Virtual health care alleviates the shortage of personal protective equipment through virtual telecare, reducing nosocomial infection due to reduction of clinic visitation especially in COVID-19 management units, protecting medical personnel from virus infection, and re-establishing undergraduate medical students clinical observership and medical care participation that has been halted due to the pandemic [ 53 ].…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The successful adoption of virtual health care requires the availability and reliability of underlying technologies like the Internet, ICT infrastructure, and reliable electricity supply. Technological barriers to the adoption of virtual health in Africa include poor internet connectivity [ 54 ], unreliable electricity supply [ 22 , 31 , 55 ], insufficient or unavailability of ICT infrastructure, inadequate or inappropriate virtual health infrastructure [ 49 , 56 ] and high cost of telecommunication equipment [ 36 ]. Additionally, malfunctioning of computing devices due to technical problems is a hindrance to the utilization of telemedicine and telehealth [ 30 ].…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Are we there yet? Unbundling the potential adoption and integration of telemedicine to improve virtual healthcare services in African health systems

Mbunge

Muchemwa

Batani

2022

Sensors International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the attention has now shifted towards universal vaccination to gracefully lift strict COVID-19 restrictions previously imposed to contain the spread of the disease. Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing an exponential increase of infections and deaths coupled with vaccines shortages, personal protective equipment, weak health systems and COVID-19 emerging variants. Some developed countries integrated telemedicine to reduce the impacts of the shortage of healthcare professionals and potentially reduce the risk of exposure, ensuring easy delivery of quality health services while limiting regular physical contact and direct hospitalization. However, the adoption of telemedicine and telehealth is still nascent in many sub-Saharan Africa countries. Therefore, this study reflects on progress made towards the use of telemedicine, virtual health care services, challenges encountered, and proffers ways to address them. We conducted a systematic literature review to synthesise literature on telemedicine in sub-Saharan Africa. The study revealed that telemedicine provides unprecedented benefits such as improving efficiency, effective utilization of healthcare resources, forward triaging, prevention of medical personnel infection, aiding medical students' clinical observation and participation, and assurance of social support for patients. However, the absence of policy on virtual care and political will, cost of sustenance of virtual health care services, inadequate funding, technological and infrastructural barriers, patient and healthcare personnel bias on virtual care and cultural barriers are identified as limiting factors to the adoption of virtual health care in many African health systems. To alleviate some of these barriers, we recommend the development of robust policies and frameworks for virtual health care, the inclusion of virtual care in the medical school curriculum, supporting virtual care research and development, increasing health funding, removing monopolisation of telecommunication services, developing of virtual health solutions that address eccentricities of African health systems.

show abstract

Utility of telemedicine in sub‐Saharan Africa during the COVID ‐19 pandemic. A rapid review

Chitungo

Mhango

Mbunge

et al. 2021

Human Behav and Emerg Tech

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Telemedicine is the use of technology to achieve remote care. This review looks at the utility of telemedicine during the pandemic, period March 2020 to February 2021. Eleven articles met inclusion criteria. There was moderate use of telemedicine in sub‐Sahara Africa during the pandemic, however, there were also some limitations. Benefits of telemedicine include continuing medical service provision, connecting relatives with loved ones in quarantine, education, and awareness of mental health issues, and toxicovigilance and infection control. Challenges to the implementation of telemedicine on the continent were lack of supporting telemedicine framework and policies, digital barriers, and patient and healthcare personnel biases. To address these challenges, this article proposes the development of policy frameworks that fosters telemedicine use by all stakeholders, including medical insurance organizations, the introduction of telemedicine training of medical workers, educational awareness programs for the public, and improvement of digital platforms access and affordability.

show abstract

Telemedicine use in Sub-Saharan Africa: Barriers and policy recommendations for Covid-19 and beyond

Cited by 54 publications

References 49 publications

The Contribution of Information and Communication Technology to Social Inclusion and Exclusion during the Appropriation of Open Educational Resources

The Contribution of Information and Communication Technology to Social Inclusion and Exclusion during the Appropriation of Open Educational Resources

Are we there yet? Unbundling the potential adoption and integration of telemedicine to improve virtual healthcare services in African health systems

Utility of telemedicine in sub‐Saharan Africa during the COVID ‐19 pandemic. A rapid review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About