An Overview of Potential Factors for Effective Telemedicine Transfer to Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper gives an overview of core factors mitigating effective transfer of TeleMedicine to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as a capability for improving the extremely poor state of healthcare delivery systems in that region of the world. Using specific examples of TeleMedicine applications, such as in TeleRadiology and health education, the paper highlights the importance of TeleMedicine in SSA. It then presents the salient factors that influence TeleMedicine technology transfer in the form of a conceptual framework. In explaining the framework, the paper offers opinions and supportive arguments on the importance and significance of the identified factors in effective TeleMedicine ldquouptakerdquo within the SSA. We believe the framework provides a grounded theoretical basis that information and communications technologies (ICT) or technology transfer researchers can use for empirical investigation in order to understand the efficacy of TeleMedicine adoption within developing countries at large.