Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-6bb9c88b65-fsdjw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-23T22:23:39.861Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 5 - Digital Health

from Section 1 - Health and Disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2025

By
Derrick Muneene ,
Benson Droti ,
Ruairi Brugha  and
Heiner Grosskurth
Edited by
David Mabey ,
Martin W. Weber ,
Moffat Nyirenda ,
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu ,
Jackson Orem ,
Laura Benjamin ,
Michael Marks  and
Nicholas A. Feasey
David Mabey
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Martin W. Weber
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Moffat Nyirenda
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dorothy Yeboah-Manu
Affiliation:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
Jackson Orem
Affiliation:
Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala
Laura Benjamin
Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Marks
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Nicholas A. Feasey
Affiliation:
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Get access

Summary

eHealth is defined by the WHO and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies) as the use of information and communication technologies for health (ITU 2020; WHO 2020a). eHealth solutions are the tools by which eHealth is implemented (WHO 2016). These include electronic health records systems, health management information systems, telemedicine, e-learning and mobile health.

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Principles of Medicine in Africa , pp. 72 - 78
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bediang, G et al. 2014. The RAFT Telemedicine Network: lessons learnt and perspectives from a decade of educational and clinical services in low- and middle-incomes countries. Front Public Health 2: 180. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2014.00180.Google ScholarPubMed
DIAL 2021. Principles for Digital Development. https://digitalprinciples.org/.Google Scholar
GSMA 2021. The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa. www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/sub-saharan-africa/.Google Scholar
HUG 2021 (Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève). Project Raft. www.hug.ch/cybersante-et-telemedecine/projet-raft.Google Scholar
Intrahealth International 2021a. About: iHRIS Health Workforce Information Systems Software. www.ihris.org/about.Google Scholar
Intrahealth International 2021b. Capacity Kenya Technical Brief No. 2: Human resources information system for the health sector. www.intrahealth.org/sites/ihweb/files/files/media/human-resources-information-system-for-the-health-sector/HRIS-Technical-Brief.pdf.Google Scholar
ITU 2020. Development: eHealth. www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/ICT-Applications/eHEALTH/Pages/EHEALTH.aspx.Google Scholar
Mwapasa, G et al. 2021. Evaluation of a managed surgical consultation network in Malawi. World Journal of Surgery 45: 356–361.10.1007/s00268-020-05809-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
RAFT 2021. Project RAFT. https://raft.network/.Google Scholar
Ruhuma, E, Makumbi, F, Nabukenya, J. 2021. A low-resource digital infrastructure to streamline viewing and interpretation of radiographic images: a case study of Uganda’s hospital-wide environment. Health Informatics Journal. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/14604582211043153.Google Scholar
SPIDER 2021. The principles of donor alignment for digital health. https://digitalinvestmentprinciples.org/.Google Scholar
Strickland, NH 2000. PACS (picture archiving and communication systems): filmless radiology. Archives of Diseases in Childhood 83: 82–86. doi: 10.1136/adc.83.1.82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
University of Oslo 2021. DHIS2. https://dhis2.org/.Google Scholar
WHO 2014. Compendium of Innovative Health Technologies for Low-Resource Settings: Assistive Devices, eHealth Solutions, Medical Devices. Geneva: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WHO 2016. Global diffusion of eHealth: making universal health coverage achievable. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/252529/9789241511780-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.Google Scholar
WHO 2020a. eHealth: eHealth at WHO. www.who.int/ehealth/en/.Google Scholar
WHO 2020b. Digital Implementation Investment Guide (DIIG): Integrating Digital Interventions into Health Programmes. Geneva: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WHO 2021a. Resolutions and Decisions: eHealth. www.who.int/healthacademy/media/WHA58-28-en.pdf.Google Scholar
WHO 2021b. Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025. www.who.int/docs/default-source/documents/gs4dhdaa2a9f352b0445bafbc79ca799dce4d.pdf.Google Scholar
WHO 2021c. mHealth: new horizons for health through mobile technologies. www.who.int/goe/publications/goe_mhealth_web.pdf.Google Scholar
WHO 2021d. Resolutions and deliberations on eHealth. www.who.int/observatories/global-observatory-for-ehealth.Google Scholar
WHO 2021e. Digital Health Atlas. https://digitalhealthatlas.org/en/-/.Google Scholar
WHO 2021f. Geneva University Hospitals – RAFT Network. www.who.int/workforcealliance/members_partners/member_list/hugraft/en/.Google Scholar
WHO 2021g. Hinari. www.who.int/hinari/en/.Google Scholar
WHO AFRO 2020. Regional Committee for Africa: Utilizing eHealth solutions to improve national health systems in the African region. www.afro.who.int/sites/default/files/sessions/resolutions/afr-rc63-r5-utilizing-ehealth-solutions-to-improve-national-health-systems.pdf.Google Scholar
WHO AFRO 2021. Framework for implementing the Global Strategy on Digital Health in the WHO African Region. www.afro.who.int/sites/default/files/2021-07/AFR-RC71-10%20Framework%20for%20implementing%20the%20Global%20strategy%20on%20digital%20health%20in%20the%20WHO%20African%20Region.pdf.Google Scholar
WHO – ITU 2013. National eHealth toolkit. www.who.int/ehealth/publications/overview.pdf.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge-org.demo.remotlog.com is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×