Mobile technology adoption by doctors in public healthcare in the Western Cape, South Africa

Doctors working in public healthcare in South Africa are faced with the unique resource constraints prevalent in a developing country. In this context, doctors can use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to obtain better information and decision support. However, the potential of ICTs to improve the healthcare sector will only be realised if individuals decide to adopt the new technologies. Therefore, an understanding of the factors that influence doctors’ use of a technology needs to be developed and the research efforts to identify these factors have been lacking in the South African public healthcare sector. This paper explores significant factors influencing the adoption of mobile devices by doctors in the public healthcare sector in the Western Cape, South Africa. The research methodology was shaped by qualitative enquiry and described through thematic analysis. Key adoption factors identified include those confirmed by prior research of: job relevance, usefulness, perceived user resources and device characteristics. Adoption factors that emerged during this research are support structures from national government and hospital administration, patient influence and unease in respect of malpractice legal suits.