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Nakitto, M. H., Mirembe, D. P., Waako, C., Lubega, J., Kibukamusoke, M., & Nambogo, F. (2022). The Influences of Open Access of Online Health

Information on Patient Compliance to Professional Healthcare Providers Prescription in Kasangati Town Council, Wakiso District Uganda. Advances

in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(8). 602-616.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.98.12711

systems resulting in increased generation and sharing of information often times on the

internet [1]. The Internet is a global computer network providing a variety of information and

communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized

communication protocols [2]. As of January 2021 it is estimated that there are 4.66 billion users

of the internet globally [3], of which Africa is estimated to have about 567 million users while

Uganda is estimated to have about 20.1 million users (49%) of the population according to

Uganda Communication Commission Report, 2020 [4].

The rapid internet penetration and the associated innovative service technologies such as;

YouTube, blogs, social media, wikis, among others are promoting the culture of open

communication and sharing resulting to increased availability of information on web covering

all fields of human life including healthcare. According the study conducted by [5] it was found

that increasing internet penetration was directly related to increasing use of internet by

healthcare professionals and patients. The study also found out that the most common source

of health information on the internet was from two key sources; website run by organizations

and web pages run by individual persons, often the information published on these pages is not

peer reviewed is varied by authorities of a given jurisdiction. The observations of [5] are

further reinforced by the observations of [6] and [7] who noted that, globally patients are

increasingly seeking and using online health information to become more active in managing

their own health in a partnership with their physicians. Their studies further concluded that

the increasing access to information from the internet by patients was complicating the

relationship between patients and their healthcare service providers. This is as a result to the

often misguiding information on the internet and the limited abilities of patients to comprehend

technical health information.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The researcher used a cross sectional research design adapting a mixed methods approaches

of data collection and analysis involving both quantitative and qualitative methods. The mixed

methods were chosen because they provide the researchers with the flexibility to answer the

research questions given the nature of the study which seeks options of people which

sometimes can be subjective hence the need to interrogate facts from different angles.

The research was conducted in areas of Kasangati Town Council, which is located in the central

region of Uganda in Wakiso District. Kasangati Town Council was selected for the study

because, it represents a typical rapidly growing urban center in an African setting, with rapid

expending population, largely composed of the middle class and served with both 3G and 4G

Internet (High Speed Internet). The target population for the study were; patients, perspective

patients, healthcare professionals (physicians, doctors and other medical personnel) in the

medical facilities in and around Kasangati town council. Prospective patients were also found

in public places around Kasangati town council.

The study used a stratified purposive random sampling technique to select respondents for the

study. The purposive sampling allowed us to select respondents who are most likely to answer

the questions of the study like patients and health professional in health facilities. Random

sampling is a sampling technique in which participants are randomly chosen within a sub- group of the target population.

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 9, Issue 8, August-2022

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

The research tools used included;

Survey Questionnaire (SQ): Survey questionnaire were used to collect opinions from the

patients. The questionnaire included four main sections: a preamble, this provided the

background of the study and the associated disclaimer; the respondent profile which covered

demographic data; thematic questions presented in various forms such as open ended, closed

options and likert scale these covered the main thrust of the study and structured around

research objectives.

Key Informant Interviews (KII) Protocol: The researcher also used a KII-protocol to collect

opinions from; health professionals at various healthcare facilities and within the population,

key sector opinion leaders, and academia. The responses from key informants were largely

used to generate thematic issues in line with the objectives of the study. The KII-Protocol had

three main sections; the preamble, the respondent profile and thematic sections. The tool was

designed to accommodate the attention span aspects to be short but precise. A total of 15

interviews were conducted.

The research was reviewed and approved by Clarke International University Ethics Review

board and informed consent was provided by the respondents.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Of the 385 target sample size, 381 patients were reached through an online questionnaire and

27 health workers were interviewed through a KII tool from the hospitals, pharmacies, clinics

among others. This made a total of 408 respondents for this study which is 106% participation.