The Development of Data Infrastructures for eHealth: A Socio-Technical Perspective

Authors

Jenny Ure, University of EdinburghFollow
Rob Procter, University of ManchesterFollow
Yu-wei Lin, University of ManchesterFollow
Mark Hartswood, University of EdinburghFollow
Stuart Anderson, University of EdinburghFollow
Sharon Lloyd, University of OxfordFollow
Joanna Wardlaw, University of EdinburghFollow
Horacio Gonzalez-Velez, The Robert Gordon UniversityFollow
Kate Ho, University of EdinburghFollow

Abstract

We explore some recurring socio-technical problems encountered in the development of infrastructure for sharing and re-using data across sites and social scales for eHealth research. We link these problems to contradictions between underlying assumptions about data as a commodity whose reuse is not compromised when it is extracted from the context in which it has been captured, and the reality of data as entangled with, and constituted through, local practice. To illustrate these problems, we draw on the experiences of a number of HealthGrid projects developing infrastructures for data sharing and reuse, and trace the strategies that have evolved to address them. These experiences problematize the “one size fits all” model initially adopted by HealthGrids, and highlight the need for design and development strategies that are able to engage with local needs and thereby ensure that the technical infrastructure is properly aligned with the human infrastructure it is supposed to support.

Recommended Citation

Ure, Jenny; Procter, Rob; Lin, Yu-wei; Hartswood, Mark; Anderson, Stuart; Lloyd, Sharon; Wardlaw, Joanna; Gonzalez-Velez, Horacio; and Ho, Kate (2009) "The Development of Data Infrastructures for eHealth: A Socio-Technical Perspective," Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 10(5), .
DOI: 10.17705/1jais.00197
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol10/iss5/3

DOI

10.17705/1jais.00197