The integration of e-Health with e-Governance: an ANT translation of the influencing factors

Abstract

There is a lack of integration between e-health and e-governance concepts, contributing to complexity and challenges for governments and service delivery in many countries. This has led to challenges such as a lack of cohesion of government activities from both health and governance perspectives, including poor service delivery. The study seeks to examine the factors that influence the integration of e-health with e-governance. The case study approach was employed using Namibia as the case. The interpretive approach was followed, and qualitative data were collected from both e-health and e-governance perspectives. Actor-network theory (ANT) was employed to guide the analysis. The analysis reveals the factors influencing the integration of e-health and e-governance, including alignment between business and technology, environmental assessment, collaboration among actors, enterprise architecture, skill and retention, and critical success factors. Based on these factors, a framework was developed to guide the integration of e-health with e-governance. The framework has implications for organizations' focus on e-health, e-governance, and policymakers, including governments.