A smartphone-based surveillance system for acute flaccid paralysis: A technology frames perspective

Abstract

There is a consensus in the information systems (IS) discipline that conflicting views among those implementing IS could result in critical implementation challenges. Prior studies on implementing smartphone-based disease surveillance systems highlight the emergence of diverse perceptions of the system among stakeholder groups. It is argued that these various perceptions play a role in achieving the project's objectives, particularly when there is a strong incongruence. This study examines key stakeholders' interpretations of a smartphone-based acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance system and how these interpretations have influenced the resulting outcomes. We adopt a qualitative interpretive case study method with theoretical underpinnings of technological frames (TF). The findings were drawn from observations, and semi-structured interviews with project managers (PMs), community health workers (CHWs), informants (CHIs), and disease surveillance and notification officers (DSNOs) in Kano and Adamawa states northern Nigeria. Our findings reveal that training, implementation context, and technical infrastructure use socially shape the smartphone-based AFP surveillance project. The results also illustrated how TF evolve. We present a model that explains the relationship between these factors and recommendations to manage conflicting views among stakeholder groups.