Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Peninsula Technikon, Cape Town, 2005 / The overall objective of this study is to identify the importance of culture in the implementation of Information systems and how output influences the success of a system. • The first objective is to assess the organizational culture in each hospital in terms of one of the dimensions of culture on Hofstede's checklist, namely power distance. • The second objective is to determine whether the speed with which a HIS was implemented was a success at the two academic hospitals in the Western Cape using the reduction of the level of backlog (paper based patient registration records) as a measure of implementation progress.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Peninsula Technikon, 2005. / This study was initiated to investigate whether power distance facilitates the successful implementation of a hospital information system. A comparative study was done to evaluate the effect of culture on the same information system (CLINICOM), implemented at the same time, but at different locations. The overall objective of this study was to identify the importance of culture in the implementation of In formation systems and how output influences the success of a system. • The first objective was to assess the organizational culture in each hospital in terms of one of the dimensions of culture on Hofstede's check Iist, namely power distance. • The second objective was to determine whether the speed with which a HIS was implemented was a success at the two academic hospitals in the Western Cape using the reduction of the level of backlog (paper based patient registration records) as a measure of implementation progress. The literature was reviewed on what determines the success of an information system. The effects of culture were studied and in particular power distance on the implementation of an information system and how this factor affected the backlog of information entries. Questionnaires were administered to the clerical staff at the hospitals, as they were the high users of the information system. The study showed that both institutions had a high power distance score, but the one institution had a Power distance Index (POI) that was considerable higher than the other. PDr relates to the concentration of authority. This finding suggests that the managers were more autocratic at the one hospital than at the other. The study found that the higher the PDI, the faster the backlog was reduced at implementation. Thus the higher the por the greater the concentration of authority;

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Unlike the developed nations, the health sector within the developing countries is faced with the triple challenges of human, financial and technological scarcity of resources. This insufficiency of resources results into amongst other intrapartum mishaps. To ameliorate some of these conditions, the World Health Organization (1994) promoted the use of the pathogram as an informative and data capturing tool that could help reduce intrapartum mishaps. The usage of the partogram within the intrapartum environment also introduced a dilemma as birth attendants spent quite a good amount of time using their eyes and hands (in pen and paper) capturing medical data onto the partogram instead of investing these resources onto the expectant mother and or fetus. This study adopted Design Science Research as a suitable research approach, strengthened by a pragmatic philosophical standpoint. This study involved the following methods; • A review of literature in the intrapartum environment, along with topics from relevant reference disciplines including speech recognition • A series of semi-structured contextual interviews with birth attendants, student nurses and senior midwives • A design science research study using the knowledge from the reference disciplines to design a hands-free voice driven epartogram • A simulation of the capturing of intrapartum data to evaluate and refine the prototype (epartogram) by applying anonymized intrapartum data driven by natural speech • An evaluation of the artifact (epartogram) based on a number of published guidelines recommended by scholars to demonstrate its potential utility as well as to establish if the solution is generic to the contextual environment. Although the introduction of ICT into the problem domain abetted the process of data capturing (specifically the referral process), the fundamental aspect of using the prototype to free the hands and eyes of the birth attendants proved challenging due to issues with the recognition of natural speech by speech recognition systems and background noise. Monitoring of MOU and the referral process from a lower MOU to a higher one could benefit a great deal from this study as the prototype thrived well in that regard. Natural speech recognition by machines in an uncontrolled environment is still at its infancy (some of the most powerful engines can not differentiate between background noise and direct instruction). Not withsatnding the challenges posed by the infancy of speech recognition, the artifact showed potential as a manual epartogram providing spatial access to multiple participating MOU via the cloud.

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / In the Western Cape, South Africa, despite the prospective benefits that e-Health information systems (e-Health IS) offer to support the healthcare sector; there are limitations in terms of usability, functionality and peculiar socio-technical factors. Thus, healthcare professionals do not make the most use of the implemented e-Health IS. Unfortunately, explanations remain tentative and unclear, yet non-usage of the e-Health IS defeats the objectives of its adoption, in the sense that the plan to improve and deliver quality healthcare service in the public sector may not be achieved as envisaged. The aim of the study was to acquire explanations to the causes of the limitations regarding the adoption and, particularly, the use (or non-use) of e-Health IS by clinical staff in the public healthcare institutions in South Africa. The choice of research approach was informed by the research problem, objectives, and the main research question. By the reasons of the subjective and socio-technical nature of the phenomenon, a deductive approach was adopted for this investigation. The nominalist ontology and interpretivist epistemology positions were taken by the researcher as a lens to conduct this research; which informed a qualitative methodology for this investigation. The purposive sampling technique was used to identify the appropriate participants from different hospital levels consisting of Hospital Administrative staff, and Clinical staff (Clinicians and Nurses) of relative experiences in their clinical units. Subsequently, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and content analysis technique were used to contextualize, simplify, and analysis the text data transcripts. The findings indicate that healthcare professionals have a high level of awareness and acceptance to use implemented e-Health IS. There are positive perceptions on the expected outcomes, that e-Health IS would improve processes and enhance healthcare services delivery in the public healthcare sector. Also, findings indicate that social influence plays a vital role especially on the willingness of individuals (or groups); as the clinical staff are influenced by their colleagues despite the facilitating conditions provided by the hospital management. Further, findings indicate that it is somewhat problematic to maintain balance in running a parallel paper-electronic system in the hospital environment. Hence, the core factors that influence successful adoption and use of e-Health IS include; willingness of an individual (or group) to accept and use a technology, the performance expectancy, social influence among professionals in the healthcare scenery and adequate facilitating conditions. In summary, it is recommended that there should be an extensive engagement inclusive of all respective stakeholders involved in the adoption processes. This would ensure that e-Health IS are designed to meet both practical organizational and clinical needs (and expectations) with respect to the hospital contexts.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / Redes coletoras de esgoto sÃo elementos importantes para garantir a saÃde, o bem-estar social e proteÃÃo ao meio ambiente, entretanto, elaborar projetos para desenvolver essas estruturas implica em atividades com etapas muito onerosas e repetitivas. Assim, com o objetivo de reduzir o tempo gasto, garantindo a qualidade e eficiÃncia do projeto final, os programas computacionais vÃm ganhando espaÃo e importÃncia em projetos de engenharia. O programa UFC9, objeto desenvolvido neste trabalho, à um aplicativo desenvolvido nas linguagens AutoLISP, VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) e VB (Visual Basic), o qual possui recursos grÃficos para auxiliar no desenvolvimento de projetos dentro do ambiente AutoCAD. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido para auxiliar no desenvolvimento de projetos de redes coletoras de esgoto nos elementos relacionados a desenho, dimensionamento, quantitativos e orÃamento destes importantes elementos de um sistema de esgotamento sanitÃrio. Em se tratando de desenhos, o software objeto deste trabalho auxilia no traÃado da rede coletora e geraÃÃo de perfis, no caso do dimensionamento, o software permite o dimensionamento da rede considerando ou nÃo o atendimento crÃtico, ou seja, o atendimento de casas em cotas baixas. Outra consideraÃÃo importante à a possibilidade de prever obstÃculos na rede, evitando, assim, problemas durante a execuÃÃo da obra. As planilhas de dimensionamento e de orÃamento geradas pelo programa podem ser exportadas para o Excel, facilitando a elaboraÃÃo de memoriais descritivos e de cÃlculos, alÃm de permitir alteraÃÃes ou complementaÃÃes nos orÃamentos das redes gerados pelo software. / Sewage systems are important elements to ensure the health and social welfare, however, elaborating projects to develop these structures involves activities with very onerous and repetitive steps. Thus, with the objective to reduce the time spent, ensuring quality and efficiency of the final project, computer programs have been gaining space and importance in engineering projects. The program UFC9 is an application developed in languages AutoLISP, VBA (Visual Basic for Applications)and VB (Visual Basic), which has graphics resources to assist in developing projects within the AutoCAD environment. This work was developed to assist in developing projects of sewage systems in the elements related to design, sizing, quantification and budget for these important elements of a sanitary sewage system. In the case of drawings, this software helps in tracing the collection network and profiling, in the case of dimensioning, the software allows the network dimensioning considering or not the critical coverage, in which they are located houses below the pipes. Another important consideration is the possibility of setting obstacles in the network, thus avoiding problems during the execution of the work. The dimensioning worksheets and budget generated by the program can be exported to Excel, facilitating the development of descriptive memorials and calculations, and allow for changes or additions in the budgets of networks generated by the software.

Whereas there are various initiatives to standardize the storage, processing and use of electronic patient information in the South African health sector, the sector is fragmented through the adoption of various approaches on national, provincial and district levels. Divergent IT systems are used in the public and private health sectors (“Recommendations of the Committee on …” 2003). Furthermore, general practitioners in some parts of the country still use paper as a primary means of documentation and storage. Nonetheless, the use of computerized systems is increasing, even in the most remote rural areas. This leads to the exposure of patient information to various threats that are perpetuated through the use of information technology. Irrespective of the level of technology adoption by practitioners in private healthcare practice, the security and privacy of patient information remains of critical importance. The disclosure of patient information whether intentional or not, can have dire consequences for a patient. In general, the requirements pertaining to the privacy of patient information are controlled and enforced through the adoption of legislation by the governing body of a country. Compared with developed nations, South Africa has limited legislation to help enforce privacy in the health sector. Conversely, Australia, New Zealand and Canada have some of the most advanced legislative frameworks when it comes to the privacy of patient information. In this dissertation, the Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and South African health sectors and the legislation they have in place to ensure the privacy of health information, will be investigated. Additionally, codes of practice and guidelines on privacy of patient information for GPs, in the afore-mentioned countries, will be investigated to form an idea as to what is needed in creating and formulating a new code of practice for the South African GP, as well as a pragmatic tool (checklist) to check adherence to privacy requirements.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / Addiction to mood-altering substances i.e., drugs and alcohol is a public health concern impacting society in many contexts (e.g., employment, financial costs, family welfare, healthcare, and criminal activity). As a result of the substantial personal and societal costs associated with substance abuse, significant federal dollars have been spent on addiction recovery services in an attempt to ameliorate the negative impacts of these disorders. Like many chronic diseases, relapse (40-60%; National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2012) and dropout (23-50%) rates for clients in drug and alcohol outpatient treatment tend to be high (McHugh et al., 2013; Santonja-Gomez et al., 2010; Evans, Li, and Hser 2009; Stark, 1992). Over time, it has become clear that a single course of treatment is simply not enough to meet the needs of a person in recovery from alcohol and/or other drug abuse. The field of addiction treatment and recovery has been dominated by an acute-care model of treatment. A new model, recovery-oriented systems of care (ROSC), defined as “networks of organizations, agencies, and community members that coordinate a wide spectrum of services to prevent, intervene in, and treat substance use problems and disorders” (Sheedy & Whitter, 2013, p. 227), has been endorsed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). As communities begin to implement ROSC it is imperative to understand the barriers to transitioning out of the traditional, acute-care model. Findings from in-depth qualitative interviews revealed that both treatment and probation professionals described more alignment with the ROSC model than the acute-care model. For treatment professionals, this alignment was stronger at an individual level and for probation professionals it was stronger at the system level. For both professional groups, the system-level barriers to moving toward a ROSC model were much greater than any individual-level barriers. Facilitators were found evenly split for the most part between individual and system level codes. For communities making movement toward the ROSC model, the systems of treatment and probation have great potential at the individual level for ROSC alignment and have available facilitators for overcoming system-level barriers in place. Although the acute-care model served a purpose at one time, it is now time for the ROSC model to be implemented as a comprehensive response to addiction and needs in recovery.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The research base regarding the effectiveness of systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances is limited. The incremental development of systems of care in Indiana provides an opportunity to compare the outcomes of children served in these child and family wraparound teams with the outcomes of a matched sample of children receiving usual public mental health services. Functional assessment data from a state database was examined using logistic regression models. The level of development of wraparound services was used as a fidelity measure.

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This work explores the acceptability of various persuasive design principles for pediatric users of a digital, asthma self-management solution. While persuasive design methods have been shown to motivate adherence to digital self-management, effective persuasion is highly context-dependent. The gap in research on persuasive design for younger users of asthma self-management applications raises the question of which persuasive principles are acceptable for this group’s unique context. This question is explored through the Persuasive Systems Design model. Based on interviews and workshop feedback from physicians, six persuasive principles were chosen for a redesign of an existing asthma self-management solution. The prototype was evaluated for potential acceptability by user proxies. The Personalization and Simulation persuasive principles were perceived as most acceptable for pediatric, digital asthma self-management. / Detta arbete undersöker hur pediatriska användare upplever acceptansen av övertygande designprinciper av ett digitalt självhanteringsstystem för astma. Även om övertygande designmetoder har visat sig motivera att man följer digital självhantering, är effektiv övertalning mycket kontextberoende. Den vetenskapliga kunskapsluckan rörande övertygande design för yngre användare väcker frågan om vilka designprinciper som anses vara acceptabla för denna grupps unika sammanhang. Denna fråga utforskas i detta arbete genom modellen för övertygande systemdesign. Baserat på intervjuer och workshops med läkare valdes sex övertygande designprinciper ut för att designas om för ett befintligt självhanteringssystem för astma. Designprototypen utvärderades med avseende på potentiell acceptans av användarproxys. Resultatet av undersökningen visade att personifierings- och simuleringsövertygande designprinciper uppfattades som mest acceptabla för pediatrisk, digital självhantering för astma.