Ghana Go Digital Agenda: The impact of Zipline Drone Technology on Digital Emergency Health Delivery in Ghana

Abstract

Ghana has deployed high-speed technology and digital initiatives for the daily management of all the sectors of the country under the theme ‘’Ghana Go Digital Agenda’’ policy initiative. These digital governance initiatives include the electronic or digital-health care systems, e-justice system paperless clearing of goods at port-banking, and other online services. Paramount among the many digital initiatives is the introduction of drones for emergency digital health delivery. Access to medical supplies in Ghana has been hindered by the difficulty of getting the supplies from the central points to other areas that are remotely located to enable the patients who need the services to get them. To overcome this challenge and deliver affordable and accessible health care services to the Ghanaian populace, the Government of Ghana engaged a US-based company Zipline Technology to use Drones in the supply of medical supplies for emergencies and hard-to-reach areas of the country. Since the introduction of this initiative in 2019, it has attracted mix-reactions from various stakeholders on the relevance of the drone technology project on health delivery in Ghana. This study used the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to assess drone technology’s impact on Ghana’s emergency health delivery system. The study utilized an online survey questionnaire to solicit data from participants. From the hundred (100) health facilities, located within the operational zone of the drone, twenty (20) were purposively sampled. Out of 550 questionnaires distributed, a total of 533 health workers (participants) validly responded to the online questionnaire. One key finding of our study indicates that the introduction of drone technology for medical supplies in Ghana has significantly impacted positively on the emergency health delivery system in Ghana.