African Herd Health Management (Veterinary) | 09 February 2006
Assessment of Digital Health Record Systems for Smallholder Farmers in Zimbabwe's Harare Province: Access Outcomes and Adoption Levels
T, s, v, a, n, g, i, r, o, O, n, e, s, m, u, s, ,, C, h, i, w, e, s, h, e, M, u, c, h, e, n, a, ,, G, u, m, b, o, H, o, v, e
Abstract
Digital health record systems are increasingly being adopted to improve agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers in developing countries. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including pre- and post-intervention surveys to evaluate farmer access to and use of digital tools. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of farmers to gain deeper insights into their experiences. Farmers reported increased confidence in using digital record systems for livestock health management, with 72% indicating improved data accuracy compared to traditional methods. However, hardware access was limited by the cost and availability of devices. The study highlights the potential benefits of digital health record systems but also identifies barriers related to infrastructure and affordability. Investment in affordable technology solutions and community education programmes are recommended to enhance adoption rates. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.