TY - JOUR
T1 - Findings from a survey on GIS use in the UK National Health Service
T2 - Organisational challenges and opportunities
AU - Higgs, Gary
AU - Smith, Darren P.
AU - Gould, Myles I.
N1 - Funding Information:
The research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (grant number R000223473). We express our thanks to all respondents and follow-up interviewees for their cooperation. The opinions expressed in this paper, however, are those of the authors alone.
PY - 2005/4
Y1 - 2005/4
N2 - The use of geographical information systems (GIS) in a variety of application areas points to an increasing interest in the spatial aspects of health policies. Despite the fact that most public sector organisations in the United Kingdom (UK) have access to such software tools, there has not been a comprehensive review of take-up within the health sector. In this paper, we report on a recently completed mixed-method research project that has examined the current levels of GIS use in the UK National Health Service, and focus our discussion on health authorities (HAs). Couched within the context of previous studies that have been concerned with outlining the types of factors influencing IT implementation in the health sector, we illuminate the importance of behavioural, cultural and organisational factors on the diffusion of GIS in the UK National Health Service. It is noted that very few organisations had a GIS strategy and we contend that if GIS is to play a wider role in addressing issues surrounding 'joined-up' government, more advice and guidance is needed on policies promoting the exchange of geographical data between agencies concerned with tackling health issues. We conclude by drawing attention to the perceived lack of national guidance on GIS matters, more generally, within the UK health sector.
AB - The use of geographical information systems (GIS) in a variety of application areas points to an increasing interest in the spatial aspects of health policies. Despite the fact that most public sector organisations in the United Kingdom (UK) have access to such software tools, there has not been a comprehensive review of take-up within the health sector. In this paper, we report on a recently completed mixed-method research project that has examined the current levels of GIS use in the UK National Health Service, and focus our discussion on health authorities (HAs). Couched within the context of previous studies that have been concerned with outlining the types of factors influencing IT implementation in the health sector, we illuminate the importance of behavioural, cultural and organisational factors on the diffusion of GIS in the UK National Health Service. It is noted that very few organisations had a GIS strategy and we contend that if GIS is to play a wider role in addressing issues surrounding 'joined-up' government, more advice and guidance is needed on policies promoting the exchange of geographical data between agencies concerned with tackling health issues. We conclude by drawing attention to the perceived lack of national guidance on GIS matters, more generally, within the UK health sector.
KW - Factors influencing implementation
KW - Geographical information systems
KW - National Health Service
KW - Technical and organisational issues
U2 - 10.1016/j.healthpol.2004.06.011
DO - 10.1016/j.healthpol.2004.06.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 15760703
AN - SCOPUS:14844329863
SN - 0168-8510
VL - 72
SP - 105
EP - 117
JO - Health Policy
JF - Health Policy
IS - 1
ER -
