M. Tech. Business Information Systems / The purpose of the study was to develop a framework that could be used to assess e-health readiness for rural South Africa. Data for the study was collected from Moses Kotane Municipality in the North West Province of South Africa. One state hospital and ten clinics were used for data collection. From related literature, six constructs of; core readiness, structural readiness, engagement readiness, societal readiness, performance and effort expectance were used as pillars for e-health readiness assessment. The attributes that were identified in the literature were validated by healthcare administrators at the regional office of the Northwest province.

MPM / Department of Public Health / The dawn of democracy in 1994 saw huge strides in the adjustment of various statutory instruments that aimed at opening the systems to all South Africans particularly the previously excluded groups. Health care system was one of the ear marked areas by the South African government for post-apartheid transformation. Resultantly, access to health care was declared a right and incorporated into the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996. Numerous legislative and practical steps towards achieving access to health care for all have been made with notable results. However, due the apartheid spatial planning which persuaded separate development left some sections of the community remote and with no infrastructure to support health care delivery. As a result, this has made the realization of the health care for all dreams elusive. Reportedly, the most affected communities were mainly homelands which were largely rural and townships. Despite notable improvements in the delivery of health care services across the Republic, there are still major challenges faced in this sector mainly in the rural areas and townships. Therefore, the study was set to investigate and evaluate the state of health care service delivery in rural Ndengeza Township. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative method following a descriptive design (cross-sectional) and data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and interview questions. The results revealed that transport, staff-patient relationship, unavailability of medication and medical staff were the major challenges of health care service delivery in rural areas. The respondents alluded that to improve health service delivery in the area, there is need to make available basic medication and trained medical personnel. It is believed, by the participants, that adding the number of staff will go a long way in changing the negative perceptions such as long queues, unavailability of critical services and unprincipled professionals that the public have of the local health care centers / NRF

PhD (Health Studies) / Department of Public Health / Introduction: Quality healthcare provision is a fundamental need in the life of a person since it helps develop a positive self-image. Healthcare has always been an important issue for society, both economically and culturally. Contrary, dissatisfactions and litigations laid by clients/patients and relatives against the government due to poor service provision become unmanageable. The purpose of the study was the development of strategies to facilitate provision of quality healthcare services in public healthcare facilities in Limpopo province, South Africa. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted for the study. Population for the qualitative study was constituted by professional nurses, and stakeholders (Hospital boards and Clinic health Committees) who were, purposively selected from the randomly sampled hospitals and clinics. Focus Group discussion and questionnaires were conducted to collect data. Analysis. The qualitative data was analysed qualitatively. Population for quantitative study consisted of Clients as stakeholders and professional nurses from randomly sampled hospitals and clinics. The qualitative results were used in the development of questions for questionnaire used in the quantitative approach. For the quantitative approach a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Data collection was carried out by means of two instruments for clients and professional nurses. Analysis was done using SPSS 25 version with the assistance of a Professional Statistician. The researcher used the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis to develop strategies for enhancing quality healthcare service provision in the Department of health. The interaction between Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats was analysed and used to develop strategies to facilitate provision of quality health care services in public health care facilities in Limpopo Province. Conclusion Findings of this study is expected to inform nursing education and nursing practice to review curricular on what to emphasize when training the nursing students. The findings will also inform senior management when planning for improvement of health care provision improvement. / NRF