ABSTRACT
Nursing Informatics in Africa does not exist as most readers of this text understand it. This chapter gives an insight into the role of nursing and why there is a paucity of nursing informatics. We also describe the unique landscape of healthcare delivery and technology use in Africa, particularly in South Africa. We specifically look at the private and public hospitals and clinics in South Africa that are very similar to the majority of the previously colonialised countries in Africa. The level of poverty and associated pandemic and endemic diseases highlighted over the last four decades include HIV/AIDS associated with the resurgence of TB and the endemics of cholera, Ebola, malaria and rabies. The lack of universal healthcare across Africa’s and South Africa’s impoverished populations is seen in the scarcity of medical and nursing staff and facilities. We detail the technologies being introduced and show how, even in their simplest form, these systems can enhance and help change the provision of knowledge and support to the caring professions. In particular, South Africa has undergone a massive change in government approach and policies towards universal health.
