Information needs in home based healthcare in South Africa

Abstract

Home based health care (HBHC) is advocated by the WHO "to ensure better accessibility to effective and efficient health care in community and home-settings to improve health and well-being, and contribute to morbidity and mortality reduction". In South Africa the government and many other role players see an increasingly important role for HBHC. Many researchers believe that the evolution of HBHC will follow the socio-technical network evolution. There can be no doubt that the focus is on using information and communication technologies (ICT) to implement HBHC solutions. The objective of this paper is to provide a rich picture of the current situation and needs for improvement in HBHC in South Africa today through descriptive research in one specific case. The longer-term purpose is to identify pain-points that require socio-technical solutions, including but not exclusively ICT-supported solutions.