Welcome to my wiki!

This page provides links and a brief description of publications associated with my PhD.

The folder called Thesis Final contains the final pdf versions of the thesis. Here you will find three files - the whole thesis, the “Introduction section” (no annexures) and the Annexures. The three files associated with my thesis can also be viewed directly

• the Whole thesis including annexures, etc
• the Introductory section only
• the Annexures only. The papers that contribute to the annexures are briefly described below

The folder called Papers included in Kappa contains PDF downloadable versions of papers that have been published, and which are summarised in Chapter 4 of the Introductory section of my kappa. These papers are also available as a single annexure. The thesis draws on seven peer reviewed publications:

1. The Development of an Information System for District Hospitals describes the processes for defining an EDS and data collection tools for hospitals in the ECP of South Africa. The central research question that this paper addresses is an appropriate approach to hospital management information systems development given that a hospital can be viewed as living, political and cultural system.
2. Health information system reform in South Africa: developing an essential data set describes the process of defining an EDS in the post-apartheid period in South Africa, and is a contribution to the debate around developing appropriate IS for the health sector. The research question that this paper addresses is how health information systems can be developed in a way that enables them to be flexible and adaptive over time.
3. Standardization of Health Information Systems in South Africa: The Challenge of Local Sustainability is a case study describing hospital management information systems development in the Eastern Cape Province at the time I was involved in developing the HospMIS. The paper explores the factors that contribute to the achievement of sustainable health information system standards.
4. Developing Health Information Systems in Developing Countries - the flexible standards strategy proposes a strategy for the development of IS for the health sector. The paper addresses the challenge of devveloping integrated, scalable, and flexible health information systems in the face of increasing fragmentation of health services, especially in the face of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
5. Considering the Options for Hospital Management Information Systems contributes to the discussion on the development of sustainable hospital information systems development in developing country contexts, and addresses some of the key design and implementation approaches for hospital management information systems.
6. Scaling of health information systems in Nigeria and Ethiopia - Considering the options addresses the research question posed by Sahay (2005) namely which aspects of an IS can be scaled “unproblematically” and which require local customization? Drawing on two cases (from Jigawa State in Northern Nigeria and Amhara Regional State in Ethiopia) a model is presented for balancing data demands with human resource availability and access to technology. A developmental approach to HIS development is advocated, and strategies identified for scaling of health information systems.
7. “Developed in the South” – an evolutionary and prototyping approach to developing scalable and sustainable health information systems provides an overview of the HISP-SA experience in HISD in Africa over a 10 year period, particularly focusing on efforts towards scaling HIS and sustainable HISD. This paper describes the design and implementation strategies that have contributed towards sustainable and scalable health information systems in resource constrained contexts.

The folder called Papers not included in Kappa contains papers that have either been published, or are under review at present. I am using concepts from some of them in the kappa in Chapter 5 (Theoretical and Practical contributions). Below is a brief description with direct links to each of the papers:

• The paper Evolution of a Framework for Hospital IS Systems describes the process of evaluating hospital information systems at the initiation of the hospital information systems strengthening project in the Eastern Cape Province in mid-2004;
• The paper by Igira et al describes the process of developing standardized stystems for hospital information systems strengthening in Zanzibar;
• The paper Communities of Practice discusses the challenges of adoption of new ICT’s and suggests that implementation processes should utilize “networks and communities of practice” as a lens through which to address the needs of new users;
• The paper Information for Primary Health Care has been published in the 2008 South African Health Review and provides a description of the current status of the HIS in South Africa, and future priorities.

• The paper Impact of HIV/AIDS Funding on HIS Strengthening is still under review as a chapter in a book for the World Bank. It explores the impact of funding for HIV/AIDS program information systems on strengthening health sector information systems and provides a conceptual framework for evaluating the extent of reciprocal strengthening of HIV/AIDS and health sector information systems.

Feedback would be most welcome.