Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
Health information is a weapon that provides people with much-needed knowledge about self-care management, especially in the rural areas, where only clinics are the key players in the provision and dissemination of such information. The purpose of the study was to investigate the accessibility of health information provided by the clinics in the rural areas of the Capricorn region of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The study employed the qualitative research method. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with the community members who visited the clinics at the time of the data collection. The negative attitude displayed by the healthcare practitioners and the lack of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools were found to be the major barriers to the dissemination of health information to the rural communities by the clinics in the Capricorn Region of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The study recommends that staff be trained regarding the Batho Pele Principles relating to customer service. Moreover, the clinics need to fit into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and to start using the necessary ICT tools for the dissemination of health information.