Structuration Theory-Based Conceptual Framework for Improving Healthcare Services

Structuration theory has increasingly been used in Information Systems studies and has been useful in understanding the interaction and relationship between agents and structure which in structuration theory terms is known as duality of structure. This duality is applicable even to the healthcare sector where services and healthcare data influence each other towards the provision of health services to patients. There exists in the health sector, consciously and unconsciously, huge amounts of data which are scattered, inaccessible and not properly managed. This in some cases has led to many patients being wrongly diagnosed based on insufficient information at the point of care. Consequently, there have been losses and damages to lives which contributed to the mortality rates in the country. This study was undertaken on the premise of the highlighted challenges above. The objective was to develop a conceptual framework that can guide the management of data towards the improvement of healthcare services within the South African community. This study employs the interpretive approach where qualitative data were gathered from existing works. The structuration theory, was furthermore, applied as a lens to guide the analysis of the data. From the findings, which include structure, agent, facility, and agency; a framework was developed. The conceptual framework primarily intends to guide and advance the ways in which data is stored, retrieved, managed, and used for improved healthcare services. The usage of data for healthcare services can only improve if its management effectively understands the influencing factors, from both technical and non-technical perspectives. The application of structuration theory as a lens brings a fresh perspective that can add value as well as quality to the use and management of data for healthcare service delivery. Thus, the study can be useful to health practitioners and academics from both theoretical and practical perspectives.