Perceptions of human movement researchers and clinicians on the barriers and facilitators to health research data sharing in Africa

ABSTRACT

Introduction

The benefits of research data sharing abound in the literature. However, some factors define how researchers and clinicians approach the challenges surrounding sharing human movement health research data.

Purpose

To describe the perceptions of human movement researchers and clinicians on the barriers and facilitators to research data sharing in Africa.

Method

A qualitative descriptive design with a purposive sampling method was used. In-depth interviews with human movement researchers and clinicians across Africa were conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Sixteen (n = 16) participants took part in this study. This sample size was representative of East, West, Northern, and Southern Africa. Efforts made to engage with participants in Central Africa were unsuccessful.

Result

Five themes emerged: 1) the researcher-clinician gap; 2) technological pros and cons in Africa; 3) cost matters; 4) bureaucracy and ethical factors; and 5) the unique African perspective. Mainly, barriers rather than facilitators to data sharing exist among African human movement researchers and clinicians.

Conclusion

There needs to be a societal and psychological shift through reorientation to encourage data sharing among African human movement researchers and clinicians.

KEYWORDS:

• Data curation
• database
• research data
• information dissemination
• health information management
• health information exchange

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the human movement researchers and clinicians from various African countries who participated in this study despite the pandemic. This study was funded by the Hillel Friedland Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Hillel Friedland Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.