Examining E-Government Enabling of E-Health Service Through the Lens of Structuration Theory

Abstract

The concepts of e-government and e-health have usually been separately studied and sparsely implemented in many developing countries. In the few studies where both concepts are combined, the role of e-government is hardly examined in the implementation and practice of e-health. This article offers an exploratory analysis and provides insight on the factors that influence the complementarity of both concepts, with focus on the Africa continent. Existing literature in the areas of e-government and e-health were gathered and used as data, from a qualitative method viewpoint. Dimensions of change from the perspective of the structuration theory was employed as a lens to guide the data analysis, which was conducted by using the hermeneutic approach. From the analysis, the role of the e-government in the implementation and practice of e-health was found to manifest from six main factors, which are source, platforms, collaboration, transparency, heterogeneity, and privacy. Based on these factors, a model was developed, which is intended to guide professionals in their practices. Also, the study might be of interest to academics from theoretical standpoint.