Abstract:

Background Accessing health facilities in rural Lesotho is a challenge due to the mountainous topography with a poor road network. As result Telemedicine has potential to improve access to health care in rural Lesotho.

Aim To describe the perceptions of nurses regarding information communication technology, in health care at a rural hospital in Lesotho.

Methods A quantitative descriptive research design was used. A total of 45 nurses working at a rural hospital was conveniently sampled from a population of 80. Data on demographics, knowledge and perceptions regarding CT was collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Microsoft Excel was used to analyze the data through descriptive statistics.

Results The majority of the participants were female 76% (n=34); of the age group 30 to 40 years 49% (n=22) and with nurse experience of 0-5 years 60% (n=27). Of the 45 participants, 82% (n=37) used smart phones; while 71% (n=32) used their phones for communication. The majority of the participants reported having used Microsoft Office (60%, n=27), not having ICT skills 69% (n=31), using internet on their phones 57% (n=26), willing to use ICT to communicate health information (100%, n=45), store patient information using ICT 96% (n=43) and willing to assist patients using ICT 98% (n=44).

Conclusion There are positive perceptions amongst nurses towards ICT at the rural hospital. This may reflect a level of perceived self-efficacy related to ICT in health creating a platform for possible implementation of telemedicine in the delivery of health information in rural hospitals in Lesotho.

Keywords: Sustainability, telemedicine, telecommunication, rural Africa, eHealth, perceptions.

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