A Framework for Establishing Evidence for Digital Health Interventions in Africa

The paucity of evidence for the efficacy, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness of digital health intervention has hampered their integration into mainstream health systems, especially in Africa. Test beds, also known as living labs or real-world test environments, present opportunities for addressing this problem. In this paper, we conducted a systematic review to identify countries that have implemented digital health test bed programs and identified three regions, i.e., Australia, the United Kingdom, and five Nordic countries. Based on the challenges and learnings therefrom, we proposed a framework for implementing digital health test bed programs in Africa, with a focus on South Africa. The framework could inform policy on how test beds could be leveraged to accelerate the adoption of novel digital health interventions into mainstream health systems, especially in Africa. Future work will involve implementing a prototype that could be used as blueprint for real-world implementation.