TY  - JOUR
AU  - Govender, Samantha
AU  - Cochrane, Maria Elizabeth
AU  - Mogale, Mabina
AU  - Gordon, Reno
AU  - Tshephe, Tjodwapi
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/3/25
TI  - Establishing a Digital Health Care Ecosystem in a Health Sciences University in South Africa: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study
JO  - JMIR Res Protoc
SP  - e57821
VL  - 14
KW  - health sciences
KW  - digital ecosystem
KW  - curriculum
KW  - community engagement
KW  - tertiary education institutions
AB  - Background: Comprehensive and formalized digital health care ecosystems in health sciences tertiary education in South Africa do not currently exist, but they have the potential to influence teaching and learning, research, and community engagement. Objective: A total of 3 key objectives underpin the study, that is, determining the health care curriculum needs and required content for the development of a formalized digital health ecosystem, determining the level of readiness of staff and students to participate in a digital health care ecosystem, and determining whether community engagement and strategic partnerships can contribute to the sustainability of a digital health care ecosystem. Methods: A multipronged approach will be used to address the objectives, with a mixed methods design being undertaken. The qualitative phases will be phenomenological in nature, and triangulation of information along with thematic analysis will be conducted on the collected data. Quantitative data will be collected prospectively and cross-sectionally and analyzed using descriptive analysis. Sampling will include subject experts for the Delphi technique, staff and students at the University, clinical training and education partners, and community leaders. This study has received ethical approval from the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University Research and Ethics Committee (SMUREC/H/260/2023:PG). Results: Data collection for the first phase will begin in January 2024 and conclude in December 2024. Phase 2 and 3 of the study will be conducted concurrently, with data collection starting in January 2025 and concluding in December 2026. Conclusions: The establishment of a digital health care ecosystem has the potential to benefit staff, students, and communities through stakeholder collaboration, educational opportunities, research projects, and improved service delivery. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/57821 
SN  - 1929-0748
UR  - https://www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e57821
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/57821
DO  - 10.2196/57821
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/57821
ER  -