Service design as an approach for envisioning e-health solutions: mapping the context of development in Grabouw, Western Cape

Abstract

This paper depicts the utilisation of a service design ap-proach for envisioning health-related ICT solutions in Grabouw, in the Western Cape of South Africa. Grabouw, located in the vast Elgin Valley, is the largest fruit-producing region in the country. As the commercial centre for the district, Grabouw attracts seasonal and informal labour. Together with the geographic isolation of the town, these aspects contribute to challenges in the regional health sector, especially in service provi-sion. This is exacerbated by unemployment, poverty, and crime, which hamper quality living conditions. In this context, civil society institutions aim to appropriate in-formation and communication technologies (ICTs) for health development and service provision. The authors discuss the opportunities and challenges of this enter-prise, and reflect on a service design methodology to drive health services development in the region. A ser-vice design approach builds towards a nuanced frame-work of collective development. With reference to the Grabouw case, the authors study those design principles that enhance the utilisation of technology for develop-ment outcomes. This endeavour builds toward an evi-dence-based ICT-for-development programme in health.