Behavioral Factors as a Determinant in Electronic Medical Record System Information Use: A Case of Kakamega County Referral Hospital Outpatient Department

The Kenyan Health information policy 2010-2030 envisions availability of reliable and relevant health information for use by all in order to make evidence-based decisions to allocate resources effectively and improve quality of health services in the country. Just like other parts of the world, EMR implementation in Kenya is still low coupled with numerous challenges. Despite vast amounts of resources spent in development and implementation of EMR in the outpatient department, anecdotal evidence suggests slowed service delivery in reference to service delivery charter and electronic health data generated was barely used by health care workers for service delivery and decision making. This study therefore sought to answer key research questions derived from the study objectives which include the influence of behavioral factors on information use of electronic medical records technology in a public health institution. The study was guided by technology acceptance model as its theoretical framework. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design with a target population of 80 respondents working in Kakamega county referral hospital. A descriptive survey research design was used. Stratified random sampling was embraced to divide the population into homogeneous subgroups as per the professional cadres then do simple random in proportion to their number in the population. A questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was constructed and used. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Both content and construct validity were used to ensure validity of the research instrument’s while reliability was determined by using the Cronbach-Alpha Coefficient. Pilot testing to pre-test and validate the research instruments was done prior to the main study. Results on behavioral factors revealed that half of the respondents 38 (51.3 %) agreed that the EMR disrupts the way they interact with their patients. The results also revea