Masinde Muliro University of

Science and Technology

SCHOOL OF NURSING

AN ASSIGNMENT DONE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE

NCN 9122: ADVANCED NURSING INFORMATICS

Student’s Name:
• Roselyne Abwalaba (HNR/H/01-53166/2018)
• Susan Hepzi (HNR/H/01-53791/2019)
• Wilfrida Bore (HNR/H/01-53705/2019)

LECTURER: Dr. Kelvin K. Omieno

24th Nov, 2019

 Challenges In The Use Of ICTs In Healthcare
Introduction:
Information Communication Technology (ICT) revolution brought opportunities and challenges
in developing countries in their efforts to strengthen the Health Management Information
Systems (HMIS). In the wake of globalization, developing countries have no choice but to take
advantage of the opportunities and face the challenges. The last decades saw developing
countries taking action to strengthen and modernize their HMIS using the existing ICT. Due to
poor economic and communication infrastructure, the process has been limited to national and
region levels leaving behind majority of health workers living in remote / rural areas.

Major Challenges In Using ICT In Health Sectors:

 Poor Availability of health infrastructure

 No Proper Legislation and health standards
 Lack Of Technical experts
 Negative Individual characteristics
 Inadequate allocation of funds
 Challenging IT Investment
 Lack of Electricity & Network Connectivity
 Poor ICT Utilization
 Lack of Necessary Nursing Applications & Software
 Lack of Training
 Low Level of Literacy in Technology

 Poor Availability of health infrastructure:

Inadequate ICT infrastructure in the organization hinders the service delivery to the healthcare .
Most of the hospitals in Kenya do not have a special ICT infrastructure and this hinders in
delivering health care effectively.

 Lack of Technical experts:

The organization lack technical expertise to support the use of ICT in the provision of healthcare
services. In hospitals we do not collaborate IT experts in while rendering the care.
  No Proper Legislation and health standards:

Ineffective government policies in the use ICT in the provision of healthcare services and
legislation on the access to personal information limits the use of ICT in the provision of
healthcare services.

 Negative Individual characteristics:

The employees within the organization are resistant to change thus affecting the use of ICT in the
provision of healthcare services. The subscribers of the healthcare services have negative attitude
towards the use of ICT.

 Inadequate allocation of funds:

Allocation of limited funds for health projects in the organization limits the use of ICT in the
provision of healthcare. Financial Factors like Cost of Equipment ,Cost of Hiring New Personnel
,High Cost of Installation ,Procurement Procedures ,Poor Resources Management and Business
Practices are not sufficient in most of the health care facilities.

 Challenging IT Investment :

The level of investment in IT can influence ICT strategy adoption in any organization. IT
investment factors include all staff having computers with access to Internet and intranet,
accessibility of essential services and devices by staff to perform work outside the office,
sufficiently trained staff in the efficient and effective use of IT resources, hospital having a
dedicated IT department, customized software for the different departments, as well as
integrated software to manage funding and budget.

 Lack of Electricity & Network Connectivity:

Lack of electricity has any influence on ICT strategy adoption in most of the places in Kenya
and the other great challenge is the network speed and the connectivity.
  Poor ICT Utilization:

ICT utilization in an organization can have tremendous impact on ICT strategy adoption. This
factor is mostly related to other factors like the finance ,manpower and health care providers
skills. Thus makes us ineffective in utilization.

 Lack of Training:

Health care providers do not have enough time for training and thus operating the computers
and technical equipments will be of great challenge to the health care providers. Nurses are
not conversant with computer vocabularies and languages.

 Low Level of Literacy in Technology:

Most of the health care providers do not have technological skills and takes more time in
documenting the informations. Skills and knowledge gaps may influence the adoption of ICT
strategy adoption in several ways.

 Lack of Necessary Nursing Applications & Software

In Kenya we don’t have and we don’t use specific nursing applications and software to deliver
health care. Also nurses are not much aware of using even a simple IT applications and still stick
on to the old cultural practice like pen and paper work.

References:
 Bernard Maganjo Mwangi(2017) “Factors Influencing Adoption Of Ict Strategy In The
Kenyan Public Health Sector – A Case Study Of The Kenyatta National Hospital”

 Challenges In Kenya’s Healthcare Systems By Khf In News December 29, 2018

 International Journal Of Applied Research (2015) “Utilization Of Information

Communication Technology (Ict) Among Health Care Providers In Gatundu North
District Of Kiambu County, Kenya”

 Sharon Mina Okeyo(2014) “Technological dynamics in nursing and their challenges on

nursing practicing skills in Kenyatta National Hospital”

 Simeon Ominde Wasonga(2015) “Information And Communication Technologies And

Performance Of Electronic Health Projects In Kenya”