Healthcare Digitalisation in Ghana: An Assessment Based on the Realist Social Theory

Abstract

Healthcare digitalisation is one of the technological innovations within the health sector, with prospects to improve the overall performance and quality of health care around the world. The Ghanaian health sector, as in many developing countries, seeks to continuously improve patient care through the use of various healthcare technologies. The extent of digitalisation within the Ghanaian health sector, however, still remains undetermined. Underpinned by critical realism, this study seeks to understand the generative mechanisms of digitalisation in the health sector of Ghana. The study seeks to answer the following research questions: what are the generative mechanisms of digitalisation in the health sector of Ghana? How are the varying degrees of digitalisation interpreted and explained in the empirical world? We draw on the Realist Social Theory which adopts the principles of critical realism to answer the underpinning research questions.