Background: There is a rapid uptake of mobile-enabled technologies in lower- and upper-middle–income countries because of its portability, ability to reduce mobility, and facilitation of communication. However, there is limited empirical evidence on the usefulness of mobile health (mHealth) information and communication technologies (ICTs) to address constraints associated with the work activities of health care professionals at points of care in hospital settings. Objective: This study aims to explore opportunities for integrating mHealth ICTs into the work activities of health care professionals at points of care in clinical settings of hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, the research question is, “How can mHealth ICTs be integrated into the work activities of health care professionals at points of care in hospital settings?” Methods: A qualitative approach was adopted to understand the work activities and points at which mHealth ICTs could be integrated to support health care professionals. The techniques of inquiry were semistructured interviews and co-design activities. These techniques were used to ensure the participation of frontline end users and determine how mHealth ICTs could be integrated into the point of care in hospital settings. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select tertiary hospitals and participants for this study from South Africa and Nigeria. A total of 19 participants, including physicians, nurses, and hospital managers, were engaged in the study. Ethical clearance was granted by the University research committee and the respective hospitals. The data collected were sorted and interpreted using thematic analysis and Activity Analysis and Development model. Results: The findings show that mHealth ICTs are suitable at points where health care professionals consult with patients in the hospital clinics, remote communication is needed, and management of referrals and report writing are required. It was inferred that mHealth ICTs could be negatively disruptive, and some participants perceived the use of mobile devices while engaging with patients as unprofessional. These findings were informed by the outcomes of the interplay between human attributes and technology capabilities during the transformation of the motives of work activity into the intended goal, which is enhanced service delivery. Conclusions: The opportunities to integrate mHealth ICTs into clinical settings depend on the inefficiencies of interaction moments experienced by health care professionals at points of care during patient consultation, remote communication, referrals, and report writing. Thus, the timeliness of mHealth ICTs to address constraints experienced by health care professionals during work activities should take into consideration the type of work activity and the contextual factors that may result in contradictions in relation to technology features. This study contributes toward the design of mHealth ICTs by industry vendors and its usability evaluation for the work activity outcomes of health care professionals.

Background: Infectious disease outbreaks are common in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Consequently, integrated public health surveillance has become increasingly essential for the region. Health surveillance systems enable early detection and monitoring of emerging and re-emerging disease outbreaks, thus informing preparedness and response measures. However, complex and intertwined factors obstruct a successful integrated public health surveillance in SSA, with dire consequences. Objectives: The objective of this article was to establish how big data analytics can be used to enhance integrated infectious disease surveillance and response in SSA. Method: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was used to identify and select relevant articles. A total of 10 studies that addressed the article’s objective were selected. Results: Findings reveal several barriers to the application of big data analytics for public health surveillance in SSA. These include the absence of regulatory and data governance frameworks for big data management in healthcare, disparities in digital health infrastructure across SSA’s healthcare systems, and the digital and analytical skills required for data capture and interpretation. The development of regulatory frameworks is essential for the ethical application of analytical technologies such as artificial intelligence. Conclusion: This article’s contributions emphasise the need for comprehensive strategies for the application of big data analytics for public health surveillance, as well as addressing barriers to its successful application by highlighting the requirements for an integrated infectious disease surveillance and response system in SSA. Contribution: The article contributes to the body of knowledge on the interplay between the public health space and digital health interventions by emphasising the beneficial applications of big data analytics for surveillance and response to address emerging and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks in the health systems of sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: With the rise of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the concept of digital self-management presents great opportunities for relieving some of the burdens healthcare systems face. However, for this to be realised, effective use of digital health in self-management and assessment is essential.Objective: The objective of this scoping review was to identify social determinants and cognitive factors with potential influence on digital health use in self-management of chronic medical conditions associated with NCDs in SSA.Method: The 5-stage scoping review framework was used to search, identify, and filter publications over a 10-year period from two major databases, Google Scholar and Pubmed. Based on the inclusion criteria, a total of 12 documents were chosen for analysis.Results: Findings reveal that social determinants such as cultural values and societal practices demand a rethinking of how digital health for self-management of chronic diseases are designed and developed for use in SSA, whereas a cognitive factor such as self-efficacy is central in digital health use in self-management of chronic conditions, particularly in areas like adherence to medication, diet and exercise programmes.Conclusion: Owing to the unique characteristics of digital health users in SSA, technologies and content (particularly those for self-management of chronic diseases) should be tailored to the diverse needs of the population. It is through this that the region can fully benefit from the potential of digital health use in self-management of chronic diseases associated with NCDs.

In sub-Saharan Africa, maternal mortality rates remains high among women as the vulnerable demographics of reproductive age and breastfeeding mothers compared to other parts of the world. The situation is exacerbated by the region’s underperforming healthcare systems. Although digital health interventions have increased since the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic to enhance health promotion in terms of maternal health vulnerability, the access to and utilization of care services, the record of positive impacts remains limited. The objective of this paper was to analyse the status of digital maternal health promotion in supporting female of reproductive age, first-time and nursing mothers to access and utilise maternal healthcare services during their perinatal and postpartum periods in underserved settings of sub-Saharan Africa. A literature review of peer-reviewed publications between 2020 and 2023 was conducted by searching online databases using keywords and filtering the results using a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Findings indicate that digital maternal health promotion is increasingly enabling access to hard-to-reach populations, but the utilization of associated care services remains relatively low. Particularly, mHealth and asynchronous audio-visual digital media are critical for delivering maternal health educational content to the targeted populations, including their partners, and are most likely to increase utilization of maternal care services. Digital promotion of maternal health requires multi-stakeholder collaboration to address the limiting socio-economic, cultural and technical factors that determine access to and utilization of care services during the perinatal and postpartum period, if mortality rates are to be reduced towards the sustainable development goal for good health and well-being.

The unintended consequences experienced by healthcare professionals while using health ICTs at points-of-care are disruptive to their work activities. Failure to address these consequences inhibits efforts to support the delivery of quality healthcare services in hospital settings. Hence, the aim of this paper is to identify how unintended consequences disrupt technology-enabled work activities of healthcare professionals in hospital settings. An interpretive stance was adopted to investigate healthcare professionals’ experiences with the use of health ICTs for their work activities through open-ended interview questions, to acquire in-depth information about unintended consequences events. A total of 19 participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique to identify healthcare professionals from two tertiary hospitals with varying levels of technology implementation. The participants included doctors and nurses in clinical departments that use health ICTs for medical imaging, referrals and reporting. Ethics clearance for data collection were granted by the University research ethics committee and the hospitals. Thematic analysis was adopted to identify and interpret patterns that emerged from participants’ responses. Findings indicated that the unintended consequences experienced by healthcare professionals are protracted time to complete tasks; interruption of tasks and workarounds at points-of-care. The unintended consequences are caused by contradictions that result from tensions between contextual conditions that inhibit perceived usefulness, and a lack of fit between tasks of work activities and health ICTs. Hospital managers and health technology vendors should actively consider the likely undesirable experiences or disruptions from feedback recorded during the pilot implementation phase within use contexts.

As the global communities approach 2030, towards achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (Good health and well-being), there are commendable technology-driven efforts in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to address health care system-related challenges, including the development of national Digital Health strategies. While these strategies are supposed to drive health care systems strengthening for health security, the extent to which they are being operationalised, implemented and impact measurement is scarcely reported. The Digital Health strategies have expiry timelines and do not consider the integration or implications of Industry 4.0 technology advancements on the health sector. The authors make a probable claim that national Digital Health strategies may not achieve their objectives without adequate re-assessments and that the scarce reporting constitutes a transdisciplinary gap between government-led health authorities, health care practitioners and academic research collaboration. Hence, the objective of this article was to conduct a review of existing peer-reviewed literature that have somewhat investigated implementation of Digital Health strategies in SSA. The findings suggest that inadequate capacity to monitor and report progress, limited available resources and the lack of Digital Health leadership are three of the critical factors that contribute to the uncoordinated and slow pace at which national Digital Health strategies are being operationalised in SSA.Transdisciplinary contribution: The article advocates for a transdisciplinary approach through strategic stakeholder engagement between relevant health authorities, academia, industry and non-scientific stakeholders to coordinate, monitor, assess and in reporting extent of national Digital Health strategies implementation, towards UN SDG 3.