Change management and adoption of health information technology (HIT)/eHealth in public hospitals in Ghana: A qualitative study

Abstract

In Ghana, as with other developing countries, there are several health information technology (HIT) initiatives as interventions to improve healthcare delivery. HIT implementation undoubtedly results in change. However, most studies relating to HIT implementation readiness have constantly neglected the role of change in successfully implementing HIT. This study intends to identify factors affecting successful change management as part of preparation towards successfully implementing HIT in public hospital in Ghana. To carry out this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with a matrix of HIT senior managers and thematically analyzed the data. The data was transcribed and uploaded into a Nvivo 11 software for analysis using thematic analysis techniques. Five (5) themes were discovered. They are: 1) Stakeholder participation; 2) Proof of experience in similar project; 3) Availability of committed change agents/all-levels-change representatives; 4) Clearly articulated change implementation strategy; and 5) Training and improvement mechanism (post-implementation). A fresh call is made for more attention to be paid to change as part of preparatory measures towards the adoption of HIT in Ghana using the five cardinal approaches identified as a guide.

Processes and Activities for Managing Change in Information Systems Implementation in Higher Education Institution

“…In the developing a change strategy process, the activities carried out include registering stakeholders (Alkarney & Albraithen, 2018), planning process changes/flow/ data related between divisions (Wijaya et al, 2019), determining resources and progress communication strategies (Reitsma & Hilletofth, 2018), and communicating strategies to each division involved change (Ziemba & Obłąk, 2015). In the process of forming a change team, the activities carried out include the formation of a functional change team (Wijaya et al, 2019), forming a representative team for each section (Yusif et al, 2019), and developing skills and directing change in team leaders (Chowthi-Williams et al, 2016). The providing and ensuring infrastructure process, includes division of tasks (Wijaya et al, 2019), providing centralized data (Yusif et al, 2019), ensuring IT infrastructure and providing technical support (Alkarney & Albraithen, 2018).…”

“…In the process of forming a change team, the activities carried out include the formation of a functional change team (Wijaya et al, 2019), forming a representative team for each section (Yusif et al, 2019), and developing skills and directing change in team leaders (Chowthi-Williams et al, 2016). The providing and ensuring infrastructure process, includes division of tasks (Wijaya et al, 2019), providing centralized data (Yusif et al, 2019), ensuring IT infrastructure and providing technical support (Alkarney & Albraithen, 2018). The process of identifying and enhancing capabilities, includes listing IT capabilities, analyzing current individual IT capabilities (Alkarney & Albraithen, 2018), conducting training for all involved users (Abatan & Maharaj, 2018;Alkarney & Albraithen, 2018;Reitsma & Hilletofth, 2018;Wijaya et al, 2019;Ziemba & Obłąk, 2015), and communicating the use of information systems (Alkarney & Albraithen, 2018).…”

Conceptual change management framework for effective use of examination administration system: a systemic review

“…The research group Prosci in their 2018 report on Best Practices in change management also reveals that a project has high (93%) chances of success when it applied an effective change management programme. Yusif et al (2019) conducted a qualitative investigation to identify the suitable factors influencing the introduction of IS as change in health public organization in Ghana. Yusif et al (2019 study reveals that the user participation, prior project experience, change champion commitment, strategy for change implementation and mechanism for training and enhancement buttress the acceptance of health information systems in Ghana.…”

A quantifiable framework for ‘Covid-19 exposure’ to support the Vaccine prioritization and resource allocation for resource-constraint societies

“…As the internet has already become an essential medium for providing medical assistance ( Brownstein, Freifeld & Madoff, 2009 ; Yusif, Hafeez-Baig & Soar, 2020 ), several mobile technologies ( Zhou et al., 2019 ) are invented for providing health services. There are many internet-based mobile applications ( Wikipedia, 2020 ).…”