Assessing eHealth knowledge diffusion within the public health sector in Kenya using social network analysis

• Main Author: Gitau, Ryan Nyotu
• Other Authors: Douglas, Tania
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Health Sciences 2020
• Subjects: Biomedical Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32267

High disease morbidity coupled with limited healthcare personnel places the health sector in Kenya under strain, leaving parts of the population with limited access to health services. Electronic health (eHealth), the utilisation of information and communication technologies in healthcare, is an innovation with the potential to improve access to health services. Several examples exist of eHealth projects being undertaken in Kenya. However, eHealth solutions have been poorly adopted in the public healthcare sector, which has partly been blamed on lack of knowledge amongst healthcare providers and patients. The aim of this study was to examine how knowledge is exchanged between the stakeholders currently active within the eHealth implementation space in the Kenyan public sector. The results of the study would aid in identifying communication breakdowns and ways of increasing information flow with regard to eHealth, and ultimately would aid strategies to help improve the uptake of eHealth within the public sector. A mixed methods study was undertaken that combined quantitative social network analysis and qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with stakeholders involved in implementation of eHealth projects in Kenya. Publications on implementation of eHealth projects in Kenya from 2001 to 2018 were used to obtain data on relevant organisations. Social network analysis was used to identify prominent actors. Individuals working within such organisations were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. Further social network analysis was applied to data gathered through the interviews. Foreign universities and foreign not-for-profit organisations were the most commonly identified organisations in the networks generated. The tacit nature of knowledge within networks, low research capacity and output, information guarding, geographical distance between collaborating organisations, and low cohesion were some of the factors found to inhibit knowledge diffusion within the eHealth implementation space in Kenya. The search for capacity and funding were found to contribute to network structure. eHealth knowledge management strategies should be given attention, for enhanced exchange of knowledge within the public health sector in Kenya.