Enhancing information quality as part of the disease surveillance system in Malawi, Africa: reflections on a mHealth intervention

Andersson, Bo; Wu, Tsung-Shu Joseph; O'Donoghue, John; Mastellos, Nikolaos; Thompson, Matthew; Hardy, Victoria; Ide, Nicole; Heavin, Ciara; O'Connor, Yvonne; Carlsson, Sven; Chirambo, Griphin Baxter; Lee, Hsin-yi

Enhancing information quality as part of the disease surveillance system in Malawi, Africa: reflections on a mHealth intervention

Files

ISD2017_11_July_2017_(2).pdf(503.45 KB)

Accepted Version

Date

2017

Authors

Andersson, Bo

Wu, Tsung-Shu Joseph

O'Donoghue, John

Mastellos, Nikolaos

Thompson, Matthew

Hardy, Victoria

Ide, Nicole

Heavin, Ciara

O'Connor, Yvonne

Carlsson, Sven

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Publisher

Association for Information Systems

Abstract

Public health surveillance and response to disease outbreaks is still a hurdle in many developing countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Pivotal in disease surveillance and response is the reliance on valid information, hence, the need for information which has high Information quality characteristics. A key issue with disease surveillance systems, stem from the diverse range of data sources with various levels of information quality that may affect the trustworthiness of the information. However, with the increasing diffusion of mobile phone technologies, there are opportunities to improve IQ. The aim of this study was to assess the information quality in data collected through a smartphone application the usefulness of such technologies in disease surveillance. Based on qualitative data from interviews, workshop and system specifications, it was found that information quality improves with the use of smartphone applications but aspects such as user competence, must be addressed to maximize the benefits of using mobile technologies for disease surveillance.

Keywords

Disease surveillance , eHealth , mHealth , Malawi , Africa , IDSR , IQ

Citation

Andersson, B., Wu, T., O'Donoghue, J., Mastellos, N., Thompson, M., Hardy, V., Ide, N., Heavin, C., O’Connor , Y., Carlsson, S., Chirambo, G., & Lee, H. (2017) ‘Enhancing information quality as part of the disease surveillance system in Malawi, Africa: Reflections on a mHealth intervention’, in Paspallis, N., Raspopoulos, M., Barry, C., Lang, M., Linger, H. and Schneider, C. (eds.) Information Systems Development: Advances in Methods, Tools and Management (ISD2017 Proceedings). Larnaca, Cyprus: University of Central Lancashire Cyprus. ISBN: 978-9963-2288-3-6. http://aisel.aisnet.org/isd2014/proceedings2017/General/4