Information Technology for health in developing countries

Abstract

Poverty has deepened the crisis in health-care delivery in developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, which is a region facing a disease burden that is unmatched in the world. Whether access to proven and powerful information and communication technologies (ICTs) can improve health indicators is an ongoing debate. However, this brief review shows that in the last decade there has been significant growth in Internet access in urban areas; health-care workers now use it for communication, access to relevant health-care information, and international collaboration. The central message learned during this period about the application of ICTs is that infrastructural and cultural contexts vary and require different models and approaches. Thus, to harness the full potential of ICTs to the benefit of health systems, health workers, and patients will demand an intricate mix of old and new technologies. Health workers practicing in developing countries are battling against the world’s deadliest epidemics, which include HIV/AIDS, malaria, and the resurgence of previously controlled diseases like tuberculosis. Poverty and weak health systems coupled with the mass exodus of professionals to the developed world have further strained the delivery of health care. Whether communities living in this part of the world can lift themselves out of poverty if they have access to proven and powerful technologies that can enhance their economic productivity, health, education, and access to markets is still being tested.1 However, there has been considerable international discussion about the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to make major impacts in improving the health and well being of poor and marginalized populations, combating poverty, and encouraging sustainable development and governance.2 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the use of ICTs in health is not merely about technology,3 but is a means to reach a series of desired outcomes across the entire health system.

For the purposes of this article, ICTs for health are defined as tools that facilitate communication and the processing and transmission of information by electronic means, for the purpose of improving health (including health promotion, human resources for health, and health-service delivery).24 This definition encompasses the full range of ICTs, from radio and television to telephones (fixed and mobile), computers, and the Internet. This article looks at how some of these tools have been applied in the following three principal areas in health-care delivery in developing countries: communications; access to information; and telemedicine. The article further describes major lessons learned and challenges faced in the last decade in using health ICTs effectively in a developing country setting, with special focus on sub-Saharan Africa, which is a region facing a disease burden that is unmatched in the world.