A holistic view of the social and technical factors that Influence the assimilation of an mHealth tool in developing countries

Simple item page
dc.check.embargoformatEmbargo not applicable (If you have not submitted an e-thesis or do not want to request an embargo)en
dc.check.infoNot applicableen
dc.check.opt-outNot applicableen
dc.check.reasonNot applicableen
dc.check.typeNo Embargo Required
dc.contributor.advisorGleasure, Roben
dc.contributor.advisorHeavin, Ciaraen
dc.contributor.authorEze, Emmanuel
dc.contributor.funderIrish Research Councilen
dc.date.accessioned2019-07-16T10:20:18Z
dc.date.available2019-07-16T10:20:18Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.date.submitted2018
dc.description.abstractThe integration of smartphones and mobile devices into healthcare systems has been proposed to address some of the physical barriers to healthcare delivery in rural areas of developing countries. This has prompted a number of intervention initiatives to develop novel mHealth tools for specific regions. However, despite all the research and the investment, there has been slow practical progress. This thesis attributes this slow progress to compartmentalised thinking and limited holistic exploration. In order to understand these problems, this thesis undertook a number of studies, i.e., a review-focused, a past-focused, a future-focused, and policy-focused studies to understand how an mHealth tool could be assimilated in rural areas of developing countries. These studies took place in the context of an mHealth app being explored for introduction to assist with the diagnosis and treatment of sick children under the age of five in Enugu State, Nigeria. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to create a more socially and technologically holistic understanding of the factors that influence the introduction of mHealth tools into rural areas of developing countries. First, findings from the review-focused study illustrate two key trends in existing research. Most strikingly, little research has looked at the role of patient-to-patient interactions. Furthermore, the interactions between system developers and the other stakeholder groups are notably under-represented. Second, findings from the past-focused study indicate that, (i) at the social-level, there is a perceived limitation of services, human resources and a sense of exclusion from the urban health system; (ii) at ‘material-level, observations were made of the significant infrastructural and technological limitations that discourage rural healthcare workers (RHCWs) and parents/guardians (PGs) from spending prolonged periods at the rural health centres; (iii) at the ‘practice-level’, there is the formal diagnosis treatment method practiced by the RHCWs in the midst of the PGs diagnosis and treatment practices and African traditional healing practices, and (iv) at ‘imbrication-level’, the entanglement of phones with internet access have exposed PGs to a range of health information outside the control or guidance of health professionals. Third, from the future-focused study, findings show a set of factors which are bound as an emerging explanatory model which influence primary appraisal of an mHealth tool in a new context. These factors describe a set of individual and social influences that governments, funding bodies and non-governmental organisations should consider before the introduction of an mHealth tool. Fourth, from the policy-focused study, a framework is proposed that differentiates between interventions targeting traits and states, the latter being situation-specific, and the former which seeks to improve individual’s abilities, job knowledge, and skills as they relate to an mHealth tool. Furthermore, the framework differentiates between individual and social interventions, the former being resilient to personnel change, and the latter seeking to improve crucial situations that would otherwise cause social systems to break down around an mHealth tool. These findings have implications for theory, practice, and future research. These implications are discussed in the final chapter of this thesis.en
dc.description.statusNot peer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Version
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationEze, E. 2018. A holistic view of the social and technical factors that Influence the assimilation of an mHealth tool in developing countries. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.en
dc.identifier.endpage295en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/8168
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity College Corken
dc.relation.projectIrish Research Council (New Horizons REPRO/2015/116)en
dc.rights© 2018, Emmanuel Eze.en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/en
dc.subjectHealthcareen
dc.subjectInterventionen
dc.subjectmHealthen
dc.subjectSocio-materialityen
dc.subjectDeveloping countriesen
dc.subjectMobile technologyen
dc.subjectPlanning and positioningen
dc.subjectRural healthcare workersen
dc.subjectCoping theoryen
dc.thesis.opt-outfalse
dc.titleA holistic view of the social and technical factors that Influence the assimilation of an mHealth tool in developing countriesen
dc.typeDoctoral thesisen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen
ucc.workflow.supervisorc.heavin@ucc.ie
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Thesis Abstract.pdf
Size:
350.12 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Abstract
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Thesis.pdf
Size:
3.51 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Full Text E-thesis
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
5.62 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Doctoral Theses
Business Information Systems - Doctoral Theses
College of Business and Law - Doctoral Theses
Health Information Systems Research Centre - Doctoral Theses