Sanele Enock Nene
University Of Johannesburg, South Africa
Abstract Title: Challenges on the Facilitation of Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Public Hospitals in South Africa
Biography:
Professor Sanele Enock Nene is a Senior Lecturer in Health Services Management in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, at the University of Johannesburg. He holds a Bachelor of Nursing Education and Administration degree with specialisation in Primary Healthcare, a Master’s degree in Nursing Management, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Business Leadership, all obtained from the University of Johannesburg. His doctoral research focused on the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in South African public hospitals as a strategy to enhance the quality of the healthcare system.
Professor Nene has published more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and three book chapters in reputable national and international publications. He has successfully supervised over 10 Master’s and PhD candidates to completion and is currently supervising nine Master’s and four PhD students.
Recognised as an expert in AI-driven healthcare leadership and management, Professor Nene is an internationally acclaimed speaker who has presented research papers at numerous local and international scientific conferences, including platforms in Singapore, Dubai, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. He is also actively engaged in various local and international collaborative research initiatives.
In addition, Professor Nene is the founder and chairperson of the Sanele Enock The Brand (SETB) Non-Profit Organization, a youth mentoring and coaching organisation dedicated to empowering young people in South Africa and Namibia. He has also successfully secured research grants exceeding R500,000.
Research Interest:
Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI) is the greatest technological revolution of healthcare in this digital age. Today AI has challenged and shifted the way healthcare is perceived by the public, as it has moved the practice from contact patient care to digital, including moving from paper trail record keeping to electronic records. However, there are challenges on the implementation of AI in scarce resourced African countries like South Africa. These challenges span from shortage of healthcare resources, corruption, poor service delivery and escalating poverty.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the challenges on the facilitation of the implementation of AI in public hospitals in South Africa.
Design and methods: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design and phenomenological approach was adopted. Five phases were followed to conduct this study. Phenomenological individual interviews and focus groups were used to collect data and a thematic data analysis method was used. Trustworthiness measures and ethical principles were upheld throughout the study.
Findings and conclusion: Four main themes as findings of the study; 1) Negative perceptions related to AI, 2) limited knowledge, 3) Lack of resources, and 4) Negative emotions. Challenges on the facilitation of AI in developing countries in Africa such as South Africa should be urgently addressed to Fastrack and increase AI uptake.