thesis electronic records management

Electronic records management research in ESARBICA: a bibliometric study

Records Management Journal

ISSN : 0956-5698

Article publication date: 28 June 2018

Issue publication date: 6 August 2018

This study aims to find out how the e-records management subject has been researched and tackled by researchers in the Eastern and Southern African Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA).

Design/methodology/approach

This research paper applied a bibliometric survey, where a quantitative survey of the literature pertaining to the study of e-records management in the ESARBICA region, covering the period from 2000 to 2016, was conducted applying bibliometric methods. The survey aimed at providing descriptive data that cast a spotlight on the features and development of the e-records management base literature in the ESARBICA region.

The research data display a lamentable outlook in the contribution to the electronic records management body of knowledge from the ESARBICA region. Few research articles from professionals in the records and archives management are being published. These figures call for increased investments in electronic records management research by institutions in ESARBICA, as management of electronic content has become the centre of political and socio-economic development. Follow-up studies need to be done to counter limitations placed on this research paper. The findings show that there is under production of research publications in the ESARBICA region. The region only contributed 2 per cent of the total world output in the period under review and in the study of electronic records management from journals indexed by Scopus.

Research limitations/implications

A bibliometric study places researchers at the mercy of analysing incomplete information due to limitations of resources. The variance in use of terminology (key words) by authors in published research articles may entail some being left out in an analysis of articles the same subject matter. As much as due diligence was placed on using Boolean search methods to counter such limitations they are unavoidable. An interpretation of bibliometric or citation analysis research is subjective as some analysts may label results incomplete or unreliable; hence, this paper finds itself in the same predicament. Inability to access the Thompson Reuters Web of Science database left the authors with Scopus as the only option, as Google Scholar was overlooked due to difficulties of having to rely on third-party software for analysing its indexed content that are mostly inaccurate and or ambiguous.

Practical implications

The findings of this study help uncover areas in e-records management, which have been researched over the years, and identify the prominent e-records management researchers in the ESARBICA region.

Originality/value

A number of bibliometric studies have been conducted; however, none has been conducted to establish e-records management research trends in the ESRABICA region.

• Records management
• Researchers
• Electronic records management
• Bibliometric

Chigariro, D. and Khumalo, N.B. (2018), "Electronic records management research in ESARBICA: a bibliometric study", Records Management Journal , Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 159-174. https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-12-2016-0045

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Dickson Chigariro and Njabulo Bruce Khumalo.

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

Electronic records management has become a game changer in the records and archives management field. Traditional records and archives management work procedures, work methods, theories and principles have been questioned and new schools of thought, paradigms and philosophies birthed. Researchers and scholars in the records and archives management field have also pursued research on e-records management and such research has been varied and been different. Research interests and output show the developments within a country and or region and thus an analysis of such research output in the Eastern and Southern African Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA) region goes a long way in reflecting on its advances. Wamukoya and Mutula (2005a , 2005b , p. 72) highlighted that the management of e-records is acknowledged by both governments and records management professionals as a global problem. The research seeks to investigate into problems being faced by communities and thus, e-records management research in the ESARBICA region apprises of what problems have been identified and investigated by researchers in the region. Kemoni (2009) highlighted that from South Africa, most countries in the ESARBICA region face various problems in managing e-records and to enhance the management of e-records in the region, there is need for governments and directors of National Archives within the ESARBICA region to implement the recommendations proposed by various records and archives management researchers/scholars and practitioners. As countries in the ESARBICA region seek to develop e-records management, there is a need for capacity building which will ultimately be informed by research findings and recommendations. The International Records ManagemenTrust (IRMT) (2004) pointed out that as e-government services are delivered using new Information and Communication Technologys, the intended benefits will be compromised unless the issue of capacity building is addressed.

An analysis of research trends in e-records management in the ESARBICA region will show the problems facing the region in this subject area. Furthermore, such an analysis is important in showing which research areas are over/under-researched. Technology is dynamic and ever-changing, and thus, research trends can show whether researchers and scholars are investigating pertinent issues which are in line with developments in technology. Research also has the capacity to show whether there is sufficient capacity and training to articulate e-records issues. Kalusopa (2011) noted that there is no well-articulated guidance and input to policymakers and planners from records and information managers, and national archivists in the ESARBICA . Furthermore, Katuu (2004) indicated that various individual countries seem to be struggling with the same issues in e-records management, in their local environments, but little seems to be done in terms of regional or international consultation or cooperation to avoid reinventing the wheel. This is all happening at a time when many records managers in sub-Saharan African do not have the necessary professional capability to deal with electronic records and weak institutional capacity and the absence of comprehensive records management policies, guidelines and practical standards has aggravated the situation ( Ngulube and Tafor , 2006a, 2006b , p. 58).

Research is triggered by problems faced by communities and the quest to solve these problems. Records management in general and e-records management in particular, in the ESARBICA region, is severely under resourced resulting in inadequate capacity and skill gaps ( Mulaudzi et al. , 2012 ). The preservation of electronic records created by knowledge workers is of great risk if standards for the creation, management and preservation of electronic records are not available in the organisation ( Millar, 2004 , p. 9). Furthermore, the nature of these records adds an extra level of complexity to the activity of record keeping, ensuring that appropriate, authentic and reliable records are created and captured whilst their integrity is maintained ( McLeod et al. , 2004 ).

E-records management research in the ESARBICA region

Some scholars have commented on the level of research in Africa generally and the ESARBICA region. Kemoni (2009 , p. 196) noted that few studies had been conducted on the uses of computers in electronic records management in the region. Kalusopa (2011) recommended the need for the ESARBICA region to step up research on the management of electronic records through collaborative efforts. Keakopa (2010 , p. 67) in a critical appraisal of the management of electronic records in the ESARBICA highlighted the persistent “limitations of research conducted in the region in providing appropriate solutions for the management of this new format of records”. The problem is that a lot of writers on records and archives management in Africa have revealed a terrible state of records and archives underdevelopment on the continent, but very few have carried an in-depth study or discussion on the impacts of information technology on electronic records ( Asogwa, 2012 ).

Digital best practices have been identified as other research areas and avenues which need to be pursued in the ESARBICA region. There is need for quick action if the loss of ESARBICA’s electronic memory is to be averted and governments and research councils should initiate and support research into digital best practices as the developed world has done ( Ngulube and Tafor , 2006a, 2006b ). Furthermore, reports produced by national archival institutions in the region will show the areas of interest in the records and archives management in the region. Ngulube and Tafor (2006a , 2006b , p. 69) highlighted that in the ESARBICA region, electronic records management did not feature prominently in the annual reports of most archival institutions in the ESARBICA region. Ngulube and Tafor (2006a , 2006b , p. 69) further highlighted that the tendency of the reports has been to concentrate on automation initiatives while ignoring the implications of digital formats for staff competencies needed to manage them, and long-term access to, and availability, of the digital heritage.

Strategies need to be put in place to map the way forward for e-records management in the region. Without strategies in complex environments, governments will invest in e-records management systems which will fail to meet the reasons for which they were created for as records and archives management personnel and national archival institutions will deal with such records in a haphazard and clumsy way. Kalusopa (2011 , p. 117) highlighted that although most countries in ESARBICA have attempted to put in place some programmes to manage records in general, there are no known clear strategies initiated either to manage electronic records or have e-records readiness assessments rigorously carried out.

E-records management research gaps in the ESARBICA region

Some scholars have also identified e-records management research gaps in the region ( Mnjama and Wamukoya, 2007 ; International Records ManagemenTrust (IRMT), 2004; Kemoni, 2009 ; Kamutula, 2010 ; Mazikana, 1998 ). Research into e-records readiness of countries has been noted as a weak point in e-records management research. The International Records ManagemenTrust (IRMT), (2004) noted that governments should conduct high-level assessments of key areas of e-records readiness in relation to other aspects of e-government, and determine whether or not the records and information management infrastructure is capable of supporting e-government initiatives [International Records ManagemenTrust (IRMT), 2004]. The lack of studies focusing on the e-records readiness in the region was identified by Mnjama and Wamukoya (2007) . E-records readiness assessments will go a long way in assisting organisations to be informed of existing challenges, risks and strengths, as well as potential opportunities in as far as e-records management is concerned ( Mnjama and Wamukoya, 2007 ).

E-government has been a hot subject globally and it has cast the spotlight on e-records. Kemoni (2009) noted that further research should be conducted to establish the current state of electronic records management within the framework of e-government and public service delivery initiatives within the ESARBICA member states. Glower et al. (2006) highlighted that Freedom of Information (FOI) rights have been a major driving force in enabling the development of electronic documents and records management systems and sustainable solutions for the long-term storage and preservation of digital records. Thus, more research is also required to establish how the current state of electronic records management will affect the proposed FOI legislation initiatives in ESARBICA member states ( Kemoni, 2009 ).

Researchers in the region need to also investigate skills gaps in e-records management as Kamutula (2010) asserted that unlike paper-based records, many archivists and records managers are not conversant enough with issues concerning the creation, preservation, security, access and dissemination of e-records. Furthermore, archival institutions and archivists have also missed opportunities arising in e-records management as Mazikana (1998) lamented that there is a missed opportunity by the archival community in Africa in the management of electronic records.

Researchers are key as their research findings paint a picture of how things are being done, how they are supposed to be done and why they must be done in a way they are being done. Policymakers and other decision makers have to be informed by research and thus the weaknesses of archival legislation in the ESARBICA region, especially in e-records management, points to yet another area which needs thorough research and recommendations. Mnjama and Wamukoya (2007) further highlighted that the laws, policies and procures that are necessary for successful implementation of an e-records programme that supports e-government must be critically examined.

Purpose of the study

This study sought to find out how the e-records management subject has been researched and tackled by researchers in the ESARBICA. Furthermore, this study sought to reflect on e-records management research trends and areas of focus in the ESRABICA region.

Objectives of the study

to determine the level of e-records management research output in the ESARBICA region;

to identify the prominent researchers on e-records management in the ESARBICA region; and

to determine research designs (empirical, conceptual studies, literature reviews and case studies) applied by highly cited e-records management researchers in the ESARBICA region.

Limitations

A bibliometric study places researchers at the mercy of analysing incomplete information due to limitations of resources. The variance in use of terminology (key words) by authors in published documents may entail some being left out in analysis within the same subject matter. As much as due diligence was placed on using Boolean search methods to counter such limitations they are unavoidable. An interpretation of bibliometric or citation analysis research is subjective as some analysts may label results incomplete or trustworthiness; hence, this paper finds itself in the same predicament. Inability to access the Thompson Reuters Web of Science database left the authors with Scopus as the only option, as Google Scholar was overlooked due to the difficulties of having to rely on third-party software for analysing its indexed content that are mostly inaccurate and or ambiguous.

Scope of the study

This study covered e-records management studies in the ESARBICA region. According to the International Council on Archives (2008) , ESARBICA is one of the regional branches of the ICA, which aims to further the aims of ICA and strengthen co-operation within the eastern and southern African region. The ESARBICA’s mission is the advancement of archives through regional cooperation ( ESARBICA) (2005) . ESARBICA is responsible for carrying out the policy and programmes of ICA in the region, where these are relevant to ESARBICA members. ESARBICA is made up of 12 countries, namely Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Zanzibar ( ESARBICA, 2005 ).

Research methodology

This study used bibliometric and citation analysis techniques to analyse the publications and research designs applied in electronic records management research in the ESARBICA region. Bibliometric analysis is a common technique used for quantitative analysis of literature. To explore research outputs over given time, access to relevant data is obtainable from reputable databases. Data for this study were produced from Scopus. The Scopus database was searched to retrieve the indexed research output on electronic records management publications between 2000 and 2016. Scopus is hosted by Elsevier and is one of the largest databases of peer-reviewed literature; scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. The database provides different searching and browsing options that offer the ability to measure research outputs by affiliation, author, country, etc., which were used in this study ( Archambault, et al. , 2009 , p. 1322). Only primary articles listed in the Scopus database were considered for the study. Secondary documents were sifted through to identify materials not indexed in the Scopus database but authored by authors from the ESARBICA region. Secondary documents are documents not available in Scopus database, but are extracted from reference lists in Scopus documents. The data contain many inaccuracies and a single article may be referenced differently and wrongly in different articles, thus, it may be presented as different articles. This limitation of secondary data called for thorough manual analysis for their inclusion in the research data. ESARBICA is a multilingual region with English and Portuguese being the dominant languages used by authors. The search was inclusive of all languages. The research study included and analysed only published journal articles, conference papers, book chapters, thesis and reviews.

The key words “electronic records management”, “electronic records” and “digital records” were used to perform searches in the title field of articles in Scopus. The data were analysed both manually and using the Scopus inbuilt data analysis tools. The tools offer the researcher option to analyse data on citation count, affiliation, country and subject and document type. The retrieved data on articles were exported in a comma-separated value file and were downloaded for manual analysis.

Subsequent sections present and discuss findings of the study under different headings.

Scopus research results

The researchers used “electronic records management”, “electronic records” and “digital records” as search phrases to retrieve data from the Scopus database. The search query used was “electronic records management” OR “electronic records” OR “digital records” with the search limited to the title, indexed keywords and abstract fields of the indexed documents across all subject areas of the database. A total of 2,979 documents’ results of various authors from across the world, ranging from 2000 to 2016 were retrieved; with 60 documents from ESARBICA countries ( Figure 1 ). A total of 417 documents were from undefined countries. After manual analysis of the 417 documents from the undefined countries, an article was identified by an author affiliated to the University of South Africa, which added the tally of retrieved documents under the used search query to 48 documents. A citation count analysis was done on the retrieved information to identify the productivity and the total citations received on the articles that indicate their impact, prestige or influence ( Chadegani, et al. , 2013 , p. 18). The citation analysis was to identify the stand-out articles that have been referenced more by other authors and to analyse their research design in the field of electronic records management. Understanding the context and relationship of the ESARBICA research output to the world output, on the subject matter under study a pictorial presentation of world publication data is imperative. This assists in understanding the impact of ESARBICA region research dynamics as compared to the global dynamics. The vice versa is also valid. Figure 1 presents a graphical representation of the amount of research publications produced over for the period from 2000 to 2016. The chart depicts that the peak periods of publishing were from 2013 to 2016 when huge volumes of documents were produced.

The data show a steady increase in the number of articles produced annually worldwide on the subject of electronic records management for the periods 2000- 2004, which were 474 articles, 663 for 2004 to 2008 and 1,018 for 2008-2012 with the period 2012-2016 producing 1,331 documents.

Publication count in ESARBICA region

This section presents and discusses data on the documents count of published materials by authors from the ESARBICA region. The chart shows the number of articles published annually, with 2014 and 2016 having the highest number of articles published over the 16-year period. As depicted in Figure 2 , the research output from the ESARBICA region has been lamentably constant for the period of the early 2000-2011, with a steep increase from 2012 to 2016. Although the comparisons in scientific output in specific subject areas are difficult due to a number of factors that include scarcity of resources, the number of core researchers in electronic records management and engagement in longitudinal studies that limit the publication capabilities of researchers over time, the figures are less impressive. The smaller numbers of publications maybe due to the Scopus database not indexing research repositories and journals of most countries in the ESARBICA region.

Publication country per country in ESARBICA region

ESARBICA region is composed of 12 countries that have different e-records management publication count. To better analyse the contributions of the region in building the body of knowledge in electronic records management, an analysis of individual member country publishing count is essential. Figure 3 is a graphical representation of the retrieved documents by country published and indexed by Scopus.

South Africa has the leading figures in producing publications in the ESARBICA region, 29 publications, followed by Kenya with 10, Botswana and Namibia following distantly with 8 and 4 publications, respectively. The results pose a worrying and bleak picture in terms of the academic outputs from the professionals and scholars in electronic records management.

Published document types in ESARBICA region, 2000-2016

Figure 4 below presents the different document types that constituted the total 60 indexed documents retrieved from the Scopus database published from ESARBICA region. Academic published articles and conference papers contributed the huge volumes of materials indexed in the database. Different permutations can be derived from the data that may be related to low funding for the professionals interested in the subject matter to undertake more research and publish materials. For the period under review, the data show that on average, two research articles were being published every year in the region.

Leading researchers in the subject area

A number of researchers in the ESARBICA have made significant contributions to the electronic records management body of knowledge. In as much as the contribution is proportional, they have made significant strides to stimulate and drive academic and professional discourse in electronic records management. The research findings show that Katuu, S; Kemoni, H; Ngulube, P; Ngoepe, M; Mujama, N; Wamukoya, N; Nengomasha, CT; Keakopa, S; and Mostert-Phipps are the leading producers of documents that are indexed by the Scopus database in the ESARBICA region. Not only are their publications many, but have also been highly cited Table I presents the authors’ names, titles of articles, year of publication, source title and the journal in which the articles were published; cited by indicates the number of times the articles have been referenced or acknowledged by other authors and the document type identifies the form of the authored documents. Only articles with the highest citation index were included in Table I , with 12 citations being the highest citation count when data were being analysed during authorship of this paper. The least cited paper to be included in the table had a citation count of five, which was the average high of the articles published in the region under the review period.

Analysis of research designs of articles with the high citation index

Citation implies the relationship between a part or whole of the cited document and a part of the whole of the citing documents ( Smith, 1981 , p. 83).A high citation index for an article is believed to be underlined by assumptions that include citation of a document implying use of that document by the citing author for reasons that may include paying homage to pioneers, correcting or criticising previous work, authenticating data or classes of fats, substantiating claims, citation of a document reflecting the merit of that document, author, journal, etc. ( Garfield, 1965 , p. 85). The articles presented below all have high citation indexes as compared to other articles that have been included in this research study.

Table I presents a synopsis of the highly cited publications in the region. The table shows an equal use of both literature review and empirical research methods as main source of information and data for the research publications that have been highly cited in the region. There is need to improve and increase on empirical-based research methods that are evidence based, as these will entail that studies can be empirically inspectable and confirmable.

Wamukoya and Mutula (2005a , 2005b ) conducted a study titled “E-records management and governance in East and Southern Africa”. The study sought to review the status of e-records management in east and southern Africa and it examined the e-records readiness in institutions with statutory responsibility for records and the implications of e-records management for governance. The problem under study was that the region faces major challenges with regard to the management of records and archives due to historical, political, cultural, managerial and technological factors. The study also highlighted that the statutory institutions with responsibility for archives in the east and southern African region fall short of the e-readiness standards of the IRMT benchmarks. The study also highlighted that the general e-readiness assessments that have been undertaken by SADC E-readiness Task Force in 2002 revealed that staff competencies, skills and tools needed to manage e-business processes and e-information in a shared work environment have not been adequately developed in many public sector organizations in east and southern African region. The study also highlighted that among the records and information managers and national archivists, there was insufficient capacity and training to articulate e-records issues and provide guidance and input to policymakers and planners.

The study highlighted that at policy level, senior officials and legislators are often unaware of the requirement to manage electronic records over time. At the planning and operational level, systems designers and IT specialists tend to focus primarily on current information needs resulting in inadequate attention being paid to long-term preservation requirements [International Records ManagemenTrust (IRMT), 2003]. There were no systematic strategies, that being implemented for making the transition from paper-based systems to electronic means where this is possible. The study carried out by Mutiti (2001) also highlighted that in the east and southern African region, limited progress had been made in the area of managing electronic records created by public institutions. The study also highlighted that most countries had no specific legal or administrative framework within which to operate an electronic records management programme, and had neither begun to address the broader issues involved nor did their staff have the skills to do so. Similarly, the national archives were not playing a role in the introduction of electronic government, and electronic records issues were not being addressed systematically. Furthermore, problems facing the east and Southern African region included lack of digitization projects; general lack of prioritization of automation functions and services; lack of standards, practices and procedures for the management of electronic records; records creating agencies tended to overlook long-term preservation of electronic records; electronic records were being created in public institutions and some were being mismanaged and lost; and inability to determine appropriate hardware and software.

Kemoni in 2009 conducted a review of empirical studies titled “Management of electronic records Review of empirical studies from the Eastern, Southern Africa Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (ESARBICA) region”. The purpose of the paper was to present empirical research findings regarding the management of electronic records in selected ESARBICA member countries. The paper also presented background information about ESARBICA and the state of electronic records management in the region. The paper presented challenges posed by electronic records as reported in the literature and the capacity-building initiatives and guidelines developed by archival institutions, professional organizations and universities for effective management of electronic records. It proposed suggestions for further research. The paper was based on a review of literature on electronic records and empirical studies dealing with management of electronic records in the ESARBICA region. The findings of the study indicated that most countries in the ESARBICA region lacked capacity and faced numerous challenges in managing electronic records. These relate to lack of policy and legislation, standardization, authenticity, capacity building, physical infrastructure and lack of awareness among recordkeeping professionals and government authorities on electronic records management issues, data, security of data, lack of computer skills on the part of registry staff and users and lack of electronic records policy. The empirical research findings reported in the paper revealed that apart from South Africa, most countries in the ESARBICA region face various problems in managing electronic records. To enhance the management of electronic records in the ESARBICA region, there was need for governments and directors of National Archives within the ESARBICA region to implement the recommendations proposed by various records and archives management researchers/scholars and practitioners.

Wamukoya and Mutula in 2005 conducted a study titled “Capacity-building requirements for e-records management. The case in East and Southern Africa”. The study aimed at examining capacity-building requirements for e-records management in east and southern Africa. The study pointed to the fact that e-records management problems and challenges include, but are not limited to, lack of skills and competencies, inadequate resources, lack of awareness among government authorities and records professionals, fragility of media and the need for specialized storage. The study was a literature review in general and desk research based on professional consultation and the experiences of the authors within the region. The findings of the study generally indicated that there was a dearth of e-records management skills and inadequate capacity in the ESARBICA member countries. The study also established that within ESARBICA, staff competencies, skills and tools needed to manage records in general and e-records, in particular, had not been adequately developed in many public sector organizations. The study also highlighted that at policy level, senior officials and legislators are often unaware of the requirement to manage electronic records over time so that the evidence base of government will be secure and accessible when needed by authorized users. Wamukoya and Mutula (2005a , 2005b ) also established that records management in general and e-records management in particular in the ESARBICA region was severely under resourced resulting in inadequate capacity and skill gaps. The study was limited to ESARBICA member countries, whereas it would have been more inclusive if all the countries of east and southern Africa were involved. The researchers therefore recommended that more research was therefore needed to cover the rest of the region.

Ngulube and Tafor (2006a , 2006b ) conducted a study titled “The Management of Public Records and Archives in the Member Countries of ESARBICA”. The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges faced by national archival institutions in the ESARBICA, and depending on the results of the survey, recommend a programme of action to improve the management of public records and archives in the region. This article discussed the findings of a cross-sectional study conducted between 2004 and 2005 to determine the extent to which archival institutions within ESARBICA managed public records and archives. Data for the research were obtained through interviews, content analysis of documents and self-administered questionnaires that were mailed to the 13 member states that comprised ESARBICA. These countries included Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe. The findings of the study reflected that national archives within ESARBICA had limited resources for records management functions. Furthermore, the study noted that records management processes were neither governed by standards nor guided by a professional code of ethics. The study findings also showed that records management staff were not adequately trained, electronic records were in danger of being lost due to benign neglect and legislation that mandated archival institutions to manage records through their life-cycle was not comprehensive in certain instances. The study also established that strategies used for public programming activities were rather limited and not clearly targeted at some archival institutions.

Asogwa in 2012 conducted a study titled “The challenge of managing electronic records in developing countries Implications for records managers in sub-Saharan Africa”. The paper highlighted that electronic records management was new to most records officers and archivists in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. The study also highlighted that e-records management transformed the traditional mode of recordkeeping and brought with it some constraints which records managers had to contend with if they were to remain relevant in the information society. The purpose of the study was therefore to examine the background of the problems brought about by e-records management, as well as the strategies for e-records management in Africa. The study reviewed relevant literature on archives development in Africa, electronic records, information technology and records management. The findings of the study pointed to the fact that the major problems of e-records management in Africa were administrative and the technically induced challenge and the benefits of managing hybrid records in Africa could only be realized if appropriate infrastructures, workable legislation and regulatory frameworks, adequate finance and competent ICT personnel are available. The study findings also highlighted that in the electronic age, records managers in Africa were facing challenges such as working in a digital environment, with new tools and different work approach. The study lamented that experience and training of archivists and records managers in the sub-Saharan Africa were at most inadequate to face the challenges, which included weak legislation, absence of organizational frameworks, inadequate ICT skills and competencies, colonial legacy, corruption and political instability, inter alia. The study recommended that the most important step to curtail these changes is for record managers in developing countries to get more closely involved with the other professionals in electronic information ventures.

Katuu (2012) conducted a study titled “Enterprise Content Management Implementation: An Overview of Phases, Standards and Best Practice Guidelines.” The study highlighted that discussions on the application systems used to manage digital records and other digital content have often used different terminology, frequently interchangeably, with little regard to nuanced differences. Katuu also illumined that a number of standards and best practice guidelines have been developed in different countries to address the challenges of assessing and implementing these applications. While it may look like a lot of resources are available to records professionals as they tackle the challenges of implementing software applications, there is need to clarify terminology and identify implementation phases, as well as the appropriate standards and best practice guidelines. The study reviewed literature and suggested a definitional clarity and connectedness of different terms used for enterprise content management (ECM) applications. The literature review identified the various phases of implementation of ECM applications and it offered an overview of standards and best practice guidelines. The study also assessed the connection between phases of implementation in relation to standards and best practice guidelines, providing a gap analysis while also suggesting ways of addressing the variance. The financial resources and human effort invested in the implementation process of ECMs, however, do not always bear fruit and there have been a considerable number of projects that have failed.

The findings of the study demonstrated that, at a practical level, records professionals were getting assistance in the areas of greatest weakness, which was the post-installation phase. The study recommended that there was a need for a more detailed crosswalk of the standards and best practice guidelines. Katuu highlighted that scholars had conducted crosswalks on different kinds of metadata standards, but were yet to be conducted with ECM implementation. The study also highlighted the need to conduct empirical research on how standards and best practice guidelines have been used for purposes of ECM implementation because these will reveal, in greater detail, where the weaknesses exist.

Nengomasha (2009) also conducted a PhD study titled “A study of electronic records management in the Namibian Public Service in the context of e-government”. The study aimed at answering the research question: “How can the electronic records environment be strengthened to support e-government in Namibia?” The study applied existing records management models, and attempted to establish whether or not the Public Service of Namibia has the capacity to create, manage, share and use electronic records to support e-government. This capacity is referred to as e-records readiness. The study was a multi-case study of seven Ministries, two Local Authorities and two Regional Councils. The methodology used was a qualitative approach which made use of interviews, document search and observation to collect data. The data were analysed manually using content analysis and presented in descriptive narrative with some illustrative tables and figures. The study findings showed that e-government in the Public Service of Namibia were in the initial phase of implementation, and led to an increase in the creation of electronic records.

The study further highlighted that the status of records management in the Public Service of Namibia was very poor. Nengomasha highlighted that there was lack of understanding of what records were and the importance of records management; inadequate legal and regulatory environment; failure to follow laid down procedures and standards; absence of a records management disaster plan, including digital preservation strategy; and inadequate resources, which included the lack of staff and skills to manage records in general and in particular, electronic records. The study also highlighted that the Public Service of Namibia’s score of 55 out of 120 in an e-records readiness assessment carried out as part of the study, signified high risk, which meant that government’s e- records were at risk of misuse and loss. The study concluded that Namibia’s e-government initiatives were not supported by a strong records management programme.

The study recommended among other things, an integrated records management programme for the Public Service of Namibia to promote records management awareness, determine resource requirements, review the legal and regulatory framework, review records management standards and procedures, implement an electronic records management system and ensure the sustainability of the programme through staff training and regular monitoring and evaluation. The study also recommended the adoption of ECM, and further investigation into the electronic information systems running in the Public Service and the possibilities for their integration with an electronic records management system, which the Office of the Prime Minister planned to roll out to the entire Public Service.

Conclusions and recommendations

The research data display a lamentable outlook in the contribution to the electronic records management body of knowledge from the ESARBICA region. Few research papers from professionals in the records and archives management are being published in scholarly journals. These figures call for increased investments in electronic records management research by institutions in ESARBICA, as management of electronic content has become the centre of political and socio-economic development. Follow-up studies need to be done to counter limitations placed on this research paper. The study findings show that there is under production of research publications in the ESARBICA region. The region only contributed 2 per cent of the total world output in the period under review and in the study of electronic records management from journals indexed by Scopus. These may be due to a number of factors that will need to be researched further to understand the correlation between research outputs, funding, number of practicing academics and the information management schools in institutions of learning in this region. The researchers, therefore, recommend the promotion of empirical studies on e-records management research in the ESARBICA region. Such studies can go a long way in analysing e-records management systems which have been implemented by different governments and organisations. Results from such studies can go a long way in providing valuable lessons for other countries and organisations in the region, which are yet to implement e-records management systems. Furthermore, researchers also recommend that conferences and journal publications be dedicated to the presentation and publication of e-records management research findings in the ESARBICA region.

World publication count 2000-2016

Documents published in the ESARBICA region 2000-2016

Publications count per country

Document types of research output in the ESARBICA region between 2000 and 2016

Highly cited articles

Source: Scopus database (2016)

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A Framework for Electronic Records Management System Adoption in the Higher Professional Education: Individual, Technological and Environmental Factors

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• Muaadh Mukred 18 ,
• Zawiyah M. Yusof 18 ,
• Umi Asma’ Mokhtar 18 &
• Fariza Fauzi 18  

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 843))

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• International Conference of Reliable Information and Communication Technology

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Majority of organizations, with the inclusion of higher education institutions, strive to establish strategic, efficient and timely information management. In the context of higher education institutions, valuable information is required to run the business efficiently and effectively. Although the role of information in running educational institutions has become critical, higher professional education (HPE) institutions face a challenge as they seek to adopt technologies to help in their information management. Electronic Records Management System (ERMS) helps the organizations to manage the information that are needed to plan and make well informed decisions, thus improving their competencies. In relation to this, ERMS is a relatively new addition to organizations and as such, its contributions have not been explored and because of this, organizations are still hesitant to adopt ERMS initiatives. Therefore, this study proposed a framework containing factors that influence ERMS adoption in HPEs. There were ten primary factors extracted through the reviewed relevant literature of 75 articles, with UTAUT and TOE that were used as the basis for the framework development. This framework is expected to assist HPEs institutions to determine and understand various aspects (individual, technological and environment) during ERMS adoption.

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Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia by giving the authors an opportunity to conduct this research. This research is funded by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia under Research Grant Code: GUP-2017-046.

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Mukred, M., Yusof, Z.M., Mokhtar, U.A., Fauzi, F. (2019). A Framework for Electronic Records Management System Adoption in the Higher Professional Education: Individual, Technological and Environmental Factors. In: Saeed, F., Gazem, N., Mohammed, F., Busalim, A. (eds) Recent Trends in Data Science and Soft Computing. IRICT 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 843. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99007-1_78

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Journal articles on the topic "Electronic Records Management":

Gilliland-Swetland, Anne. "Electronic records management." Annual Review of Information Science and Technology 39, no. 1 (October 18, 2006): 219–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aris.1440390113.

Popovici, Bogdan-Florin. "Electronic Records Management in Romania: More Electronic-, Less Records-Management." Atlanti 25, no. 1 (October 19, 2015): 183–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.33700/2670-451x.25.1.183-192(2015).

Kemoni, Henry N. "Management of electronic records." Records Management Journal 19, no. 3 (October 2, 2009): 190–203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09565690910999184.

Childs, S. "Editorial: Electronic records' management." He@lth Information on the Internet 63, no. 1 (June 1, 2008): 1–2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1258/rsmhii.63.1.1.

Surovtseva, Nataliya G. "Authenticity and Identity of Electronic Records." Herald of an archivist , no. 2 (2020): 467–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.28995/2073-0101-2020-2-467-477.

REED, BARBARA. "Electronic records management in Australia." Records Management Journal 7, no. 3 (March 1997): 191–204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eb027111.

Menkus, Belden. "Issues in Electronic Records Management." EDPACS 28, no. 12 (June 2001): 1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/1079/43269.28.12.20010601/30399.1.

Surovtseva, Natalia Gennadiyevna. "An electronic record as an object of records management: a historiographic review." Samara Journal of Science 7, no. 4 (November 30, 2018): 277–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.17816/snv201874221.

Hawthorne, Kisha Hortman, and Lorraine Richards. "Personal health records: a new type of electronic medical record." Records Management Journal 27, no. 3 (November 20, 2017): 286–301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/rmj-08-2016-0020.

Bailey, Steve. "Forget electronic records management, it's automated records management that we desperately need." Records Management Journal 19, no. 2 (June 12, 2009): 91–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09565690910972048.

Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Electronic Records Management":

Kandur, Hamza. "The management of electronic records." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.281917.

Manikas, Konstantinos. "Records Management and Electronic Records Management Opportunities and Limitations : A case study in Greek companies." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för informatik (IK), 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-45536.

Alhaqbani, Bandar Saleh. "Privacy and trust management for electronic health records." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2010. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/37635/1/Bandar_Alhaqbani_Thesis.pdf.

Mohamud, Koshin. "Electronic health records in Trinidad and Tobago." Thesis, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3739555.

Hay-Gibson, Naomi V. "Risk and records management : investigating risk and risk management in the context of records and information management in the electronic environment." Thesis, Northumbria University, 2011. http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/3308/.

Sonico, Eric A. "Implementation and utilization of electronic medical records| An analysis." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1522655.

This master's thesis will present a literature review and analysis ofthe implementation and use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). The literature review will discuss reasons that support implementation of EMRs, factors that are necessary for successful implementation and barriers that impede implementation. Also, real-world examples of implementation for medical billing in healthcare organizations will be discussed, as well as the disparity in implementation rates between larger and smaller healthcare organizations.

The analysis portion of this thesis will include data from the 2009 National Ambulatory Medical Survey (NAMCS) EMR Supplement and, through the application of the Chi-Square statistical test using SPSS, will assess whether size of the medical practice in terms of number of physicians is significantly associated with EMR implementation and functionality, the latter of which includes clinical reminders and prescription ordering. It will be shown that physician size is indeed significantly associated with implementation and functionality.

Lindqvist, Maria. "Keeping or Discarding Records : A Comparison and a Practical Use of Standards for Electronic Records Management." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för datavetenskap, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-79290.

Becker, M. Y. W. Y. "CASSANDRA : flexible trust management and its application to electronic health records." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.596509.

Warren, Richard Alton. "Exploring Strategies for Successful Implementation of Electronic Health Records." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4261.

Kwatsha, Ntombizandile. "Factors affecting the implementation of an electronic document and records management system." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5152.

Books on the topic "Electronic Records Management":

Shepherd, Elizabeth. The management of electronic records . London: Library Information Technology Centre, 1996.

Saffady, William. Managing electronic records . 4th ed. Lenexa, Kan: ARMA International, 2009.

Erlandsson, Alf. Electronic records management: A literature review . Paris: ICA, 1997.

Wolfe, Rita M. QuickTronic records management: Manual/electronic simulation . Cinncinnati, Ohio: South-Western Educational Pub., 1996.

1946-, Hare Catherine, and McLeod Julie 1957-, eds. Managing electronic records . London: Facet, 2005.

Adam, Azad. Implementing electronic document and record management systems . Boca Raton: Auerbach Publications, 2007.

Stewart, Jeffrey Robert. Professional records management . New York: Glencoe, 1995.

Murphy, Royce. Content management: Managing the lifecycle of information . Hamburg: PROJECT CONSULT, 2002.

Book chapters on the topic "Electronic Records Management":

Puentes, John, Gouenou Coatrieux, and Laurent Lecornu. "Secured Electronic Patient Records Content Exploitation." In Healthcare Knowledge Management , 160–75. New York, NY: Springer New York, 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-49009-0_12.

Handzic, Meliha. "Empowering Society through Knowledge Records." In Knowledge Management in Electronic Government , 262–67. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2003. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44836-5_27.

Alhaqbani, Bandar, and Colin Fidge. "Access Control Requirements for Processing Electronic Health Records." In Business Process Management Workshops , 371–82. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78238-4_38.

Gloth, F. Michael. "Electronic Health Records, Medications, and Long-Term Care." In Medication Management in Older Adults , 105–9. New York, NY: Springer New York, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-457-9_9.

Kalsekar, Atharva, Avinash Jaiswal, Rogin Koshy, Sameer Mandloi, and Bhavesh N. Gohil. "Secure Electronic Health Records (EHR) Management Using Blockchain." In Blockchain for Information Security and Privacy , 245–74. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publications, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781003129486-12.

Henricks, Walter H. "Electronic Health Records and Their Implications and Opportunities for Laboratories." In Clinical Laboratory Management , 918–32. Washington, DC, USA: ASM Press, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/9781555817282.ch53.

Jain, Prateek, Sagar Bhargava, Naman Jain, Shelly Sachdeva, Shivani Batra, and Subhash Bhalla. "Healthsurance – Mobile App for Standardized Electronic Health Records Database." In Data Management and Analytics for Medicine and Healthcare , 136–53. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67186-4_11.

Jagadamba, G., E. L. Sai Krishna, J. P. Amogh, B. B. Abhishek, and H. N. Manoj. "Adaptive Electronic Health Records Management and Secure Distribution Using Blockchain." In Proceedings of International Conference on Network Security and Blockchain Technology , 312–24. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3182-6_25.

Xue, Sixin, Xu Zhao, Xin Li, Guigang Zhang, and Chunxiao Xing. "A Trusted System Framework for Electronic Records Management Based on Blockchain." In Web Information Systems and Applications , 548–59. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30952-7_55.

Nazir, Shahid, and Amit Dua. "IoT-Based Electronic Health Records (EHR) Management System Using Blockchain Technology." In Blockchain , 135–63. Boca Raton: Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781003203957-11.

Conference papers on the topic "Electronic Records Management":

"Pervasive secure electronic healthcare records management." In The 2nd International Workshop on Ubiquitous Computing . SciTePress - Science and and Technology Publications, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.5220/0002572801010110.

Gunnlaugsdottir, Johanna. "ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS - The Human Factor." In 11th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems . SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.5220/0002000600970104.

Humm, Bernhard G., and Paul Walsh. "Flexible yet Efficient Management of Electronic Health Records." In 2015 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI) . IEEE, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/csci.2015.84.

Yu, Fang, Feng Dan, and Wang Dandong. "MPEG Application in Electronic Records and Document Management." In 2010 Fourth International Conference on Mangement of E-Commerce and E-Government (ICMeCG) . IEEE, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/icmecg.2010.89.

Kadhim, Dua Abdulrazak, Sarfraz Iqbal, and Päivi Jokela. "Electronic Health Records: Non-Swedish Speaking Refugee’s Perspective." In The 18th international symposium on health information management research . Linnaeus University Press, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.15626/ishimr.2020.16.

"An Approach Towards Information Quality Management of Electronic Health Records." In International Conference on Health Informatics . SCITEPRESS - Science and and Technology Publications, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.5220/0004752402700275.

Jiamsawat, Watchara, Chidchanok Choksuchat, and Sureena Matayong. "Blockchain-Based Electronic Medical Records Management of Hospital Emergency Ward." In 2021 International Conference on COMmunication Systems & NETworkS (COMSNETS) . IEEE, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/comsnets51098.2021.9352932.

Mikula, Tomas, and Rune Hylsberg Jacobsen. "Identity and Access Management with Blockchain in Electronic Healthcare Records." In 2018 21st Euromicro Conference on Digital System Design (DSD) . IEEE, 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/dsd.2018.00008.

Diaz, Alvaro, and Hector Kaschel. "Scalable Management Architecture for Electronic Health Records Based on Blockchain." In 2022 IEEE International Conference on Automation/XXV Congress of the Chilean Association of Automatic Control (ICA-ACCA) . IEEE, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ica-acca56767.2022.10005960.

Pavalam, S. M., M. Jawahar, and Felix K. Akorli. "Data warehouse based Architecture for Electronic Health Records for Rwanda." In 2010 International Conference on Education and Management Technology (ICEMT) . IEEE, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/icemt.2010.5657660.

Reports on the topic "Electronic Records Management":

Kelly, Kristine L., Alan Kowlowitz, Theresa A. Pardo, and Darryl E. Green. Models for Action: Practical Approaches to Electronic Records Management and Preservation. Fort Belvoir, VA: Defense Technical Information Center, July 1998. http://dx.doi.org/10.21236/ada362862.

Archuleta, Yvonne C. Guide to Handle Electronic and Physical Records Requests for Service Innovation-Records Management Services (SI-RMS) Staff . Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), May 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.2172/1512725.

Schnabel, Filipina, and Danielle Aldridge. Effectiveness of EHR-Depression Screening Among Adult Diabetics in an Urban Primary Care Clinic . University of Tennessee Health Science Center, April 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.21007/con.dnp.2021.0003.

Rankin, Nicole, Deborah McGregor, Candice Donnelly, Bethany Van Dort, Richard De Abreu Lourenco, Anne Cust, and Emily Stone. Lung cancer screening using low-dose computed tomography for high risk populations: Investigating effectiveness and screening program implementation considerations: An Evidence Check rapid review brokered by the Sax Institute (www.saxinstitute.org.au) for the Cancer Institute NSW . The Sax Institute, October 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.57022/clzt5093.

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Related links, south african journal of information management, on-line version  issn 1560-683x print version  issn 2078-1865, sajim (online) vol.23 n.1 cape town  2021, http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajim.v23i1.1312 .

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

A framework for the digitisation of records and archives at selected state universities in Zimbabwe

Godfrey Tsvuura I ; Patrick Ngulube II

I Department of Information Science and Records Management, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Zimbabwe Open University, Harare, Zimbabwe II School of Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Studies, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

Correspondence

BACKGROUND : This study examines the digitisation of records and archives at two state universities in Zimbabwe that have embarked on digitisation of their records and archives resources in line with new technological trends of doing business online OBJECTIVES : One of the objectives of this research study was to identify the gaps existing in the digitisation of records and archives at the two selected state universities and recommend ways of filling those gaps. The other objective was to find out if the state universities have adopted a framework or model for the smooth digitisation process of the records and archives METHODS : The study adopted a qualitative multiple-case research design to provide an in-depth understanding of the cases of the digitisation of records and archives at the selected state universities. Data were collected via purposive sampling using interviews RESULTS : The major findings of this study revealed that the two state universities are digitising records and archives without a framework or model for a smooth digitisation programme CONCLUSION : The study recommends for a centralised model to cater for the digitisation of records and archives at the state universities in Zimbabwe. A model for managing digital records and archives which combines best practices and top management support with a centralised approach is proposed. This model is built on integrated systems that will enable the two selected state universities to enhance cost-effectiveness, sharing and exchanging digital records and archives amongst employees. This study is pertinent as it enriches the literature in the field of records and archives management and provides strategies on the management of digital records and archives in state universities in Zimbabwe

Keywords : digitisation; records and archives; integrated systems; centralised framework; university records

Introduction

This research study investigates the digitisation of records and archives at two selected state universities in Zimbabwe, namely, Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) and Harare Institute of Technology (HIT). The two state universities have embarked on digitisation of their records and archives resources in line with new technological trends of carrying out business online in both teaching and administration. Mukred et al. (2019), and Mukred and Yusof (2018) stated that digital technology in the educational sector can play a positive role in building on traditional learning and teaching methods, enabling students to have easy access to the information they need and leveraging academic achievements. However, Ambira, Kemoni and Ngulube (2019) observed that digitisation, in most cases, is disjointed and uncoordinated, with each section adopting its strategy and approach. Such practices negate the collective principle and responsibility of working jointly towards delivering goods and services to stakeholders (Ambira et al. 2019).

The objective of this study was to determine whether the state universities were using a model or framework for managing the digital records and archives, as digitisation of records and archives must be a well-planned project with adequate resources and framework of operation (Tsvuura & Ngulube 2020). Another objective was to identify the gaps that exist in the digitisation of records and archives in the two selected state universities and recommend ways of filling those gaps, if they exist.

Background and context of the study

The change in recordkeeping from paper-based to digital records has challenged the existing procedures of recordkeeping. Thibodeau (2013) revealed that the transition from paper records to digital records management has been embraced and adopted globally with its fragmented arrays of successes, failures and challenges. This transition from paper to digital records and archives has created gaps in the quality of service delivery (Ambira et al. 2019). According to the authors, the ability to coordinate and share information is hampered in cases where policies for information sharing and management of digital records do not exist. The lack of a clear framework for managing digital records poses a major risk to the sustainability, stability and quality of services offered through electronic platforms (Ambira et al. 2019). Despite the good initiatives of adopting digital records and archives management, Ambira et al. (2019) recommended for a framework to guide the management of digital records.

The literature has shown that the use of digitised records and archives has widely been accepted in organisations throughout the world, as it has brought in a new dispensation with a great deal of changes in modernising business processes, communication, financial management and decision-making (Asogwa 2013; Asproth 2005; Chinyemba & Ngulube 2005). The literature has also revealed that a portion of society's recorded memory created and preserved digitally has already been compromised and become inaccessible (Duranti 2009; Duranti & Jansen 2016). The digitisation of records and archives has been widely accepted and become an essential part of government structures in both the developed and developing countries. The adoption of digitised records and archives management in the two selected state universities has led to the decentralisation of information through networks, servers, memory sticks, databases, as well as websites in large volumes (Tsvuura 2020). This has resulted in organisational records being stored in individual employees' laptops and memory sticks, who leave the organisations carrying the records with them (Tsvuura & Ngulube 2020). A lack of university records management policies that separate official business records from personal records result in the loss of ownership and organisational records embedded in individual laptops and private email inboxes, having a great risk of being lost. The main organisational e-mail records that are transmitted during business hours are easily personalised and kept as private records in individual inboxes of Google mail accounts, and carried away by personnel whilst leaving the organisation. This implies that adequate and clear policy frameworks on what to do with digitised records and archives are required, including where they should be kept and who should be responsible for their safe custody. It is in this respect that every organisation whether big or small should ensure that its records are able to stand for the facts for which they are created.

This study focused on the digitisation of records and archives at two selected state universities in Zimbabwe, namely, ZOU and HIT. The objective of this study was to evaluate the legal and statutory frameworks for managing the digitisation of records and archives at the state universities. The legislative and statutory imperatives in Zimbabwe, the exponential growth in digitised records and archiving in the state universities, and the lack of trained records personnel for the management of digital records and archives motivated this study. The two state universities have embraced digitisation and they are creating digital records of two formats, that is, by conversion of paper records through scanning into electronic or digital and by creating (born digital) records on the computers. Digitised records and archives are documents created and maintained using the digital computer technology (Tsvuura & Ngulube 2020:23). The digitisation process has enabled the state universities to provide an improved access to information sources, and the preservation and dissemination of information as required, where it is required and at the time it is required. This study is premised on the fact that digital records and archives require appropriate management, legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines. They also require the services of trained records personnel, who would be at the heart of the state universities' drive towards delivery of digital services. By undertaking this study, the researchers wished to underscore why it is necessary for the state universities to understand the concepts of recordkeeping, contextualise it, and be able to use digital records and archives for business objectives and strategies.

Whilst Cumming and Findlay (2010) asserted that the prophesied paperless office will never exist, the fluidity, flexibility and diversity of digital business environment have also brought in proliferation of digital records and archives. The same authors highlighted that the sheer volumes involved in terms of numbers of record formats require active and ongoing integrative management. This has also demanded from governments legislation and policies on digital records and archives, including the use of electronic signatures (e-signatures), to formalise the acceptance of such records as official records and legalise their admissibility as evidence in courts of law. McDonald (2002) noted that the majority of developing countries still lag in digital recordkeeping and cited a lack of efficient digital records management skills and scarcity of records management professionals. Lipchak and McDonald (2003) argued that legislative and regulatory frameworks are important parts of the environment for managing digital records. This has also been supported by Munetsi (2011) who alluded that legal and regulatory measures are components required to foster recordkeeping in the face of challenges of managing digital records and archives. The above statement by McDonald (2002) is the situation on the ground in Zimbabwe, as the country is grappling to come up with legislation that governs digitised records and archives. In this regard, digitised records and archives, just like their paper counterparts, should support evidence-based decisions in a court of law and comply with the national laws of Zimbabwe and international standards. However, Duranti and Jansen (2016) noted that digitisation itself is challenging the viability and legitimacy of many well-established social and cultural norms and their associated legal frameworks. In this regard, universities in Zimbabwe have not been spared.

It has become a norm all over the world that organisations should have sound records management frameworks that would assist them to access records for appropriate decision-making. According to Asogwa (2013:793), tertiary institutions can only be effective and efficient if records management is considered a business process designed to support institutional objectives. In this regard, as tertiary institutions move into digitisation, they need to make sure that the technological tools they are investing in are supported by legal, policy and business structures that would make the digitisation process effective. Hofman, Duranti and How (2017:2) argued that in order to meet minimum expectations and ensure that recorded memory is well preserved, technological tools must be supported by legal, social and business structures. This also requires the hiring of professional records personnel who must develop appropriate strategies, procedures and standards that will meet best practices.

In other words, the recommended centralised records management model is based on these records management principles, which may assist tertiary institutions to develop sound digital records management systems, include records management policy, staff with records management responsibilities, management oversight, strategic planning and resource allocation, operational procedures, practices and systems, communications, and monitoring and reporting mechanisms (Victorian Auditor-General's Office 2016).

Benefits of managing digitised records and archives

Tsvuura and Ngulube (2020:21) stated that digitised records and archives are documents created and maintained by digital technology. Technology itself has created the possibilities to improve the quality of service delivery in most, if not all, organisations around the world. Today, the ability of any organisation to perform well hinges on its adoption of technology and how that organisation infuses into sustainability of that technology. As observed by Asogwa (2013:792), efficient records and archives management provide reliable information that may be inevitably needed for effective functioning of organisations. 'Reliable records and archives enables organisations to perform their functions successfully and efficiently' (Asogwa 2013:792). Accordingly, records and archives despite the media they are captured on are the campus or atlas of any organisational journey on which it relies on. Managing digital records and archives ensures that organisations have appropriate tools for access to the required records in a consistent and accountable manner. One of the major advantages of having digitised records and archives is the fact that these materials can be accessed through computer technology and even remotely. According to Balogun and Adjei (2019:614), millions of users can have access to the files online via the internet regardless of their locations, and copies can be made several times without degradation of the contents.

Challenges of managing digital records and archives

The challenges of managing digitised records and archives have been surmounting from the introduction of electronic recordkeeping systems. Despite the tremendous capabilities of digital recordkeeping systems, Asogwa (2012:205) noted that technology continue to evolve, and hence, transferring records from old to new digital systems require substantial reformatting and restructuring of the records. Accordingly, Thibodeau (2013) argued that the relationship between what is stored and what is presented to a human being can be both complex and variable, as what would be presented to human beings as a single object may comprise of content drawn from many different data stores.

Thibodeau (2013) elaborated that one of the challenges of managing digital records is that every time when digitised records are copied to a different storage medium and whenever they are transmitted on a network, they change their format in one way or another. Earlier on, Duranti (2010:78) propounded that 'the greatest challenge with digital systems is the creation and maintenance of reliable records and the preservation of their authenticity over time'. According to Mutsagondo (2021:94), amongst the challenges to effective management of digital records are the lapses in legal policy and procedural frameworks, skills and information and communication technology infrastructure deficiencies. Coupled with all these challenges is the difficulty of preserving digital records for future use in order to sustain business operations (Ngulube 2012).

Statement of the problem

With the advent of technology, digitisation of records and archives transformed the way business is being performed in state universities, and consequently, the nature of how they are managed. This implies that a clear framework for managing digital records is necessary in order to reduce the risk to the sustainability, stability and quality of services offered through electronic platforms (Ambira et al. 2019). A top management strategy is also important to ensure that erroneous information dissemination and preservation do not occur. The extent of management support for the management of digital records and archives, and the effectiveness of the framework for managing digital records are not adequately known. The main objective of this study was to identify the gaps that exist in the digitisation of records and archives at the two selected state universities and recommend ways of filling those gaps, with a focus on top management support and the management of digital records framework. The questions to guide the study were formulated as follows:

1. What is the current state of the digitisation process at the two state universities?

2. What framework is used for managing digital records and archives at state universities in Zimbabwe?

3. What infrastructure is employed for the smooth digitisation process at state universities in Zimbabwe?

4. How is the top management involved in the digitisation of records and archives processes?

5. What strategies can be employed to strengthen the digitisation of records and archives?

Literature review

Alkhofani et al. (2019:1) outlined that prior to the digitisation process of records and archives, there are factors that need to be known, which include organisational and technological factors. The other factor is top management commitment and support to the digitisation process, as it guarantees funding and employees' awareness (Alzubi, Aldhmour & Ali 2015:180). Mutsagondo and Ngulube (2018) noted that lack of senior management support and inadequate resources result in unsuccessful digital records and archives management programmes, as junior records staff could not influence organisational policies towards their discipline. Top management allocates budget that plays a key role in meeting the financial demands of digitisation (Alkhofani et al. 2019:5). A lack of budget could prevent successful implementation of digitisation of records and archives programmes (Cucciniello 2015:268). Hasanain, Vallmuur and Clark (2015) argued that communication between top management and subordinates in the digitisation process is essential, as it facilitates sharing of ideas, information and data amongst stakeholders. According to Nguyen, Bellucci and Nguyen (2014:780), communication is deemed to be a change management tool in resolving issues and in ensuring timely sharing of information across the departments in the right format. In addition, Fuin-Hoon Nar, Lee-Shag Lau and Kuang (2001:288) opined that communication raises high-level staff willingness and top management commitment in the initiative and facilitates successful implementation of the digitisation process.

Both Abdulkadhim et al. (2015) and Shatat (2015) identified experienced and skilled personnel and user involvement as a critical factor to the successful implementation of the digitisation process. Mutsagondo and Ngulube (2018) noted some anomalies and poor digital records management skills amongst personnel who manage digitised records and archives. Chaterera (2012), Nasieku (2012), Mutsagondo (2017) and Mutsagondo and Ngulube (2018) argued that many records officers lack information and communication technology (ICT) skills because they were not inculcated in them during formal training. Mutsagondo and Tsvuura (2017) bemoan that a number of officers managing records were not trained in records management or were professionals from other backgrounds, such as secretarial and administration. Mutsagondo and Ngulube (2018) argued that this has become a thorny issue in records management discourses in many developing countries, as many countries in sub-Saharan Africa experience skills gaps amongst records professionals. Tsvuura and Mutsagondo (2015) hold that some officers who manage digital records are not qualified. This was supported by Sigauke, Nengomasha and Chabikwa (2016) when they noted that there was a lack of qualified records management staff from amongst officials who were responsible for managing digital records in state universities in Zimbabwe. However, Alkhofani et al. (2019:5) outlined that training is essential, and argued that training allows users effective and efficient operation of a new system. Training services plays a major role in the success of the new system (Asogwa 2012).

In their study on admissibility of digital records as evidence at the Bulawayo High Court in Zimbabwe, Huni and Dewah (2019) hold that without policies in place, there is no consistency, compliance, good practice or uniformity in the administration of business transactions. Policies and procedures act as a guide to facilitate activities in the digitisation process in a clear and extensive manner (Asima-Makhtar & Yusof 2009). Digital records and archives are susceptible to manipulation, alterations and deletion, and if there are no valid policies that are understood by staff members responsible for their management, the whole operations will be performed in a hit-or-miss approach (Huni & Dewah 2019; Mutsagondo & Tsvuura 2017). Mutsagondo and Tsvuura (2017) added that if there are no policies, records practitioners will be placed between a rock and hard surface, as well as placed on the horns of a dilemma as they juggle between options as to how they should professionally manage such records. They listed three causes of the dilemma to managing digital records and archives: firstly, the regulatory and legal framework governing digital records and archives management in Zimbabwe is in shambles. Secondly, digital records and archives management is seriously dented by lack of skills in information and communication technologies and digital records and archives management. Thirdly, digital records and archives management had been introduced before the laws and frameworks were put in place, resulting in individuals resorting to own ways of managing such records. Dube (2011), Mutsagondo and Chaterera (2016) and Huni and Dewah (2019) expressed that lack of legislation has a negative impact on the management of digital records and archives. Dube (2011) categorically stated that obsolete and out-of-touch with technological developments legislation could not help to solve the problems experienced in the digital environment. Tsvuura, Mbawuya and Ngulube (2021:120) observed that many organisations are struggling to formulate new policies and laws to address electronic records management. The situation has not changed as Nasieku (2012) and Kamatula (2010) noted that policies and guidelines to manage digital records were non-existent, weak or outdated in many developing countries.

Abdulkadhim et al. (2015:17948) brings in information technology (IT) infrastructure as core to the digitisation of records and archives as it incentivises good performance of tasks, jobs and responsibilities. As digitisation is based on the IT infrastructure, ineffective IT infrastructure can affect the end product (Alkhofani et al. 2019:6). A good technological infrastructure and its technical support are a must for the smooth digitisation process, and lack of it can lead to adoption challenges and ultimately failure (Alkhofani et al. 2019:6).

Theoretical framework

This study adopts a comprehensive technology-to-performance theoretical framework suitable for the proposed centralised model for strengthening the digitisation of records and archives at state universities. The theoretical framework was propounded by Goodhue and Thompson (1995) as they found a moderate empirical support for direct links between task and technology for successful performance in organisations. Orlikowski (2000) highlighted that the relationship between technology, organisational processes and performance is of great importance to the completion of tasks assigned. Digitisation is one of such technologies adopted by universities into their processes with the hope of enhancing performance. Information technology now exists to enable employees to engage in global activities critical to their organisations (Malhotra & Majchrazk 2005). The technology-to-performance theory resonate well with the proposed centralised model for the digitisation of records and archives at state universities. The proposed centralised model has requirements, key strategies for implementation and desired results. In this instant, the interventions by the two selected state universities should ensure that the technological infrastructure for digitisation is made available, and followed by enforcement and implementation of rules and regulations in the creation of digitised records and archives. The end product, which is the digitised record, will be desirable and useable. In a nutshell, the technology-performance requirements for smooth digitisation includes effective IT infrastructure, strategic alignment, and organisational structure, which result in innovation of digitisation programmes.

The researchers adopted a qualitative multiple-case design to enquire into the experiences of the participants who are involved in the digitisation of records and archives. With roots in social and cultural anthropology, philosophy, history and sociology, qualitative research is a form of social action that stresses on the way people interpret and make sense of their experiences to understand the social reality of individuals (Haradhan 2018:2). A multiple-case study approach was adopted to provide an in-depth understanding of a case or cases of the digitisation of records and archives at the selected state universities. Yin (2014) argued that a multiple-case study design allows replication logic as each participant is viewed as a single-case study in their own right. This study design is also highly effective in achieving a deep understanding of the specific phenomenon (Creswell 2014). The population of the study included the two registrars of the state universities who were purposively chosen and interviewed to get an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon at hand. Data are collected from interviews by recording answers. The researchers then gave a unique identifier to the recorded data as a first step of analysis. They identified segments of meanings from the data provided and labelled them as participant 1 and participant 2. The two participants were adequate enough to facilitate theoretical saturation (Strauss & Corbin 1990) or information redundancy (Lincoln & Guba 1985). Coding and categorising data helped researchers to create inventories of data and acquire deep, comprehensive and thorough insights into the data (Miles, Huberman & Saldana 2013; Saldana 2015).

Data findings and analysis

The participants from the two selected state universities were asked about the current state of the digitisation of records and archives at their universities. They answered that digitisation of records and archives that were ongoing at their universities as they were conducting organisational business using computers and online platforms. They were further asked if they had adequate infrastructure for the digitisation processes. Participant 1, a male professional who was Registrar at one of the universities said that:

' … The infrastructure for the digitisation of records and archives need improvement as the current state was demanding in terms of latest technology and adequate scanners to convert paper records into electronic formats.'

Participant 2 had this to say, ' … as a technologically driven state university, there is adequate infrastructure for all processes undertaken by staff at the university'. Both participants were further asked about the strategies they employed to strengthen the digitisation processes. Participant 1, a male professional who was Registrar at one of the universities said that:

' … The university has a digital records management policy and an email records management policy that was introduced in 2016. These policies provide guidelines on how we should conduct our business using computer technology. In the process we are creating digitised records and archives. However, there is great need for effective enforcement and implementation of these policies through procedures. There is need cooperation between the records management units and the ICT department, so that proper digital recordkeeping within the university is practiced. The ICT department of the university needs to play a pivotal role on the issues of digitisation of records and archives as this requires cooperation of expertise between records personnel and the ICT department.'

Participant 2 provided three pertinent issues:

' … there is need to develop a records management framework document (policy) to guide on digitisation of records and archives and their continuous migration as technology changes; successful completion of the student records/data management system will go a long way in effective management of students records, and the records management section has to continuously receive financial support from the university management to enable its proper functioning in recordkeeping matters.'

The participants were asked whether they had a framework on which they were able to control and strengthen digital records management within their universities. Participant 1, a male professional who was Registrar at one of the universities said that:

' … The university established a Records Committee of Senate which at intervals meet and deliberate on issues of records management in the university. The records committee of senate is composed of members from various units within the university and it reports to Senate which is the highest decision-making board of the university. This indicates that there is adequate support of records management activities within the university. However, there is need for enforcement of records policies to have an effective digitisation programme.'

Participant 2 suggested the following three critical aspects: training of records management personnel and all staff members within the institutions on proper recordkeeping as records help in decision-making, implementation of the records management policy documents and establishment of records management committee at an institutional level.

The study findings established that there was a policy framework for the management of digitised records and archives at ZOU, whilst there was no policy framework at HIT. However, the study revealed that even ZOU has a policy framework for the management of digitised records and archives, and this policy framework was not being effectively followed as the participant indicated the need to fully implement the policy. In light of these findings, the study recommended a centralised model for strengthening the digitisation of records and archives at the selected state universities. Sigauke, Nengomasha and Chabikwa (2016:24) supported the adoption of an integrated and collaborative framework for managing emails as digitised records at state universities in Zimbabwe. Nguyen et al. (2009) also proposed a centralised electronic records management system in the Australian public sector for effective implementation of the electronic records management system. Ouma (2012:32) holds that integrated solutions and opportunities to work with partners can improve services at state universities. In their study, Abdulkadhim et al. (2015:17945) established an adoption model that demonstrates a strong correlation between digitisation efficiency, decision-making, technology acceptance and team adaptiveness.

The rapid changes in university business and adoption of technology result in the digitisation of records and archives in order to achieve competitive advantage. In this instance, top management is important for the successful digitisation process because they bring a clear change in management plan and strategy. Katuu (2000:34) argued that digitisation is often seen as the more glamorous because of its various benefits, such as reduced time of retrieval, multiple access points and enhancement. Such technology lowers constraints, such as resistance to change, and expand opportunities, such as potential benefits and advantages of digitisation (Floridi 2014:205). Many universities globally have adopted digitisation of records and archives, and they have recognised that it has made a positive impact on their performance (Alzubi et al. 2015:1). According to Alzubi et al. (2015:2), this has enabled them to link their internal and external data processing systems more efficiently and flexibly to work more closely with their students and staff and to better satisfy the needs and expectation of their clients. Digitisation of records and archives helps to simplify routine procedures and to make data and information more easily accessible to all beneficiaries regardless of the time and place (Smit, Glaudemans & Jonker 2017:308). Another benefit and important contribution of digitisation on the universities have been in reducing the transaction times and costs (Alzubi et al. 2015:1). Smit et al. (2017:307) hold that many organisations continue to invest large amounts of resources in ICT, and therefore, to determine the potential acceptance of these new technologies is important. Alzubi et al. (2015:2) hold that if these new ICTs are accepted and adopted by users, the chances of the systems and investments' success greatly increase.

The study also established that digitisation of records and archives at the state universities is beset with some hurdles. These findings further underscore the need for the state universities to adopt digitisation as this could help them to invest in technology. In addition, digitisation of records and archives comes with costs of investments in hardware and software infrastructure, including training of personnel. This is in view that the participant 1 outlined that the infrastructure for the digitisation of records and archives needs improvement as the current state was demanding in terms of the latest technology and adequate scanners to convert paper records into electronic formats. Katuu (2000:34) observed that digitisation at the national archives of countries, such as United States, Canada and United Kingdom, has been known to cost millions of dollars. However, today, the flexibility of the new technologies allows organisations to use cloud-based applications provided by service providers through various networks (Tsvuura, Ngulube & Mbawuya 2021). The cost includes that of technology, which include both hardware, software and constant challenges maintaining and upgrading in order to avoid obsoleteness (Katuu 2000:34). Another cost is that of manpower training and continuous education. The state universities have to consider the issue of technology dependence, where digitised records are created using particular hardware and software. It is crucial not to forget that digital resides somewhere and usable according to a particular technology and subject to an enormous amount of risks, like a virus or wrong click of the mouse (Smit et al. 2017:308). Alzubi et al. (2015:2) argue that digitisation require a modern and flexible organisational structure. Several studies have shown that top management support is a significant predictor of technology adoption (Alzubi et al. 2015:2).

In light of the findings, the study recommends a centralised model, as illustrated in Figure 1 , to strengthen the digitisation of records and archives within the state universities. Sigauke et al. (2016:24) argued that a proposed framework is based on three tiers of policy: technological infrastructure, professional training and capacity development. This would enable personnel responsible for the management of digitised records and archives to be guided accordingly when undertaking digitisation processes. Mutsagondo and Tsvuura (2017) concluded that the management of digitised records need to be seriously addressed in order to cover all aspects, such as creation, receipt, use, maintenance, transfer and destruction. The last two aspects of transfer and destruction are very crucial as they dictate the availability of records now and in the future (Huni & Dewah 2019). Ngulube (2012) issued a warning that a relaxed approach to digital records and archives management may sooner rather than later plunge the world into digital amnesia and the digital dark age. This study recommended a model for managing digital records and archives, which combines policies, best practices and top management support for effective digitisation programme in a centralised approach. In agreement with this, InterPARES Trust (2014) explored issues concerning digital records and data entrusted to the Internet, with a goal of generating theoretical and methodological frameworks to develop a variety of instruments that ensure public trust grounded on the evidence of good governance, strong digital economy and persistent digital memory.

It was within this context that this study synthesised the findings and available literature on digitisation of records and archives, electronic records management, best practices, international standards, regulatory and compliance to create a digital recordkeeping framework, and came up with a centralised model for recordkeeping, which could be adopted for managing digital records and archives in state universities. This model is built on integrated systems that will enable the two selected state universities to enhance cost-effectiveness, sharing and exchanging digital records and archives amongst employees. These include infrastructural, implementation and administrative requirements that will bring the desired results. The centralised model has been simplified in Figure 1 . Centralising records and archives storage help to focus on control of digital records management, thereby improving efficiency, reliability and flexibility of organisational records. In their study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Chinyemba and Ngulube (2005) also revealed that the problems of records management were because of the fact that the university had no central repository of expertise for records management.

The centralised model recommended in this study helps to integrate business procedures with records system procedures in order to strengthen control of all information coming into and going out of the universities. The infrastructure required for a smooth digitisation process includes computers, scanners, servers or storage, backup systems, constant power supplies and technical support of personnel with the requisite skills. Accordingly, the proposed centralised framework in Figure 1 is underpinned by the infrastructure, compliance with legislative and policy issues, administrative, which include all stakeholders and top management support and the end result which is keeping the records in a centralised database or cloud-based records storage system. Effective legislation and policies are required for the systematic, effective and efficient management of records and archives at state universities (Tsvuura & Ngulube 2020:23). This is in view that Zimbabwe as a developing country still faces inevitable hurdles and problems, such as lack of appropriate legislation, policies and procedures, required to effectively manage digitised records and archives.

A central database system or a cloud-based records management system, which is controlled centrally, is required for storage of digitised records and archives, and not on individual computer drives. The centrality of the model is that a central database system or a cloud storage facility must be in place where all the records will be stored in one server and not in different computer drives that often make the records decentralised, having a great risk of being lost. This requires a change in organisational recordkeeping culture, as well as staff working habit, attitudes and responsibilities. This model also requires employees to understand legislation, policy, procedures and organisational structure in order to minimise resistance, which can be a major hurdle to the successful implementation of the digitisation programme. Munkvold and Zigurs (2007) argued that a lack of understanding of organisational circumstances can result in misunderstandings and make digitisation hard to utilise in an efficient way.

Another critical measure in this model is the ability to track the registration, where each record provides evidence of its existence and perpetuates its attestation to its integrity and its relationship with other records. The model allows the universities to reduce storage space as the records will be stored in a cloud or centralised database storage system. In this way, the universities can enjoy the benefits of digitisation of records and archives. Tsvuura and Ngulube (2020:21) alluded that such a technological process creates the possibility to improve service delivery in the universities.

The study findings established that there was no central model to manage digitised records and archives at the selected state universities. This study recommended a centralised model for managing digital records in state universities in Zimbabwe. This would help in tracking the records, starting from the type of record to be created or received, and by whom, how the record is to be classified, audited as well as disposed of, including its level of confidentiality as it moves through the trenches of the business transactions.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the two anonymous reviewers for their time and very helpful comments on earlier versions of this work, and the two independent coders who helped in resolving the coding difference between the researchers.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.

Author's contributions

P.N. contributed 40% of the inputs article and G.T. accounted for the 60% as described above.

Ethical considerations

The low-risk application was reviewed by the College of Graduate Studies Ethics Review Committee on 09 March 2021 in compliance with the University of South Africa (UNISA) Policy on Research Ethics and the Standard Operating Procedure on Research Ethics Risk Assessment. This study is based on questionnaires and interviews with adults.

Funding information

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Data availability

Data are available from the corresponding author (P.N.) upon request.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.

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Received: 17 Sept. 2020 Accepted: 28 May 2021 Published: 19 July 2021

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Electronic Records Management Challenges

A generation ago one would dictate a letter to an assistant who would type and file the document in an appropriate manner; being a part of the record management process that person would handle the regular disposition of those records. With the advent of the personal computer more and more of us are directly responsible for creating and filing our own documents without the benefits of training within the records management process, which leads to inadequate institutional control over the creation and maintenance of records.. Further complicating matters is that of the issue of preservation  )  and that:

• the documents and records we now create are dependent upon technology to interpret them, and more often than not, they are dependent upon specific hardware and software system combinations, some which are proprietary and unique
• there are a lack of institutional policies and guidelines addressing the management of electronic records
• there are a lack of affordable tools to appropriately and effectively manage electronic records
• without effective tools and/or institutional polices and guidelines for filing and managing records, the usability, locatability and accessibility to the records may be compromised
• the low cost of electronic storage does not encourage individuals to manage their records by disposing of records who's lives have expired
• there is a greater risk for potential security breaches and damage via virus attacks .
• there are significant risks of records loss or damage due to instability of storage media
• the unmanaged proliferation of copies, even in paper, that while they provide redundancy from a backup point of view, they can ultimately wreak havoc with completing a final disposition process
• the changes in the  Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP)   specifically identifies electronic records, including backups and unknown copies, as discoverable

• Open access
• Published: 08 April 2024

The Red Cross Red Crescent Health Information System (RCHIS): an electronic medical records and health information management system for the red cross red crescent emergency response units

• Felix Holl 1 , 2 ,
• Lauren Clarke 2 ,
• Thomas Raffort 3 ,
• Elvire Serres 3 ,
• Laura Archer 4 &
• Panu Saaristo 5  

Conflict and Health volume  18 , Article number:  28 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) utilizes specialized Emergency Response Units (ERUs) for international disaster response. However, data collection and reporting within ERUs have been time-consuming and paper-based. The Red Cross Red Crescent Health Information System (RCHIS) was developed to improve clinical documentation and reporting, ensuring accuracy and ease of use while increasing compliance with reporting standards.

Case presentation

RCHIS is an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Health Information System (HIS) designed for RCRC ERUs. It can be accessed on Android tablets or Windows laptops, both online and offline. The system securely stores data on Microsoft Azure cloud, with synchronization facilitated through a local ERU server. The functional architecture covers all clinical functions of ERU clinics and hospitals, incorporating user-friendly features. A pilot study was conducted with the Portuguese Red Cross (PRC) during a large-scale event. Thirteen super users were trained and subsequently trained the staff. During the four-day pilot, 77 user accounts were created, and 243 patient files were documented. Feedback indicated that RCHIS was easy to use, requiring minimal training time, and had sufficient training for full utilization. Real-time reporting facilitated coordination with the civil defense authority.

Conclusions

The development and pilot use of RCHIS demonstrated its feasibility and efficacy within RCRC ERUs. The system addressed the need for an EMR and HIS solution, enabling comprehensive clinical documentation and supporting administrative reporting functions. The pilot study validated the training of trainers’ approach and paved the way for further domestic use of RCHIS. RCHIS has the potential to improve patient safety, quality of care, and reporting efficiency within ERUs. Automated reporting reduces the burden on ERU leadership, while electronic compilation enhances record completeness and correctness. Ongoing feedback collection and feature development continue to enhance RCHIS’s functionality. Further trainings took place in 2023 and preparations for international deployments are under way. RCHIS represents a significant step toward improved emergency medical care and coordination within the RCRC and has implications for similar systems in other Emergency Medical Teams.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) has developed specialized Emergency Response Units (ERUs) to support its humanitarian activities in disaster response. ERUs are pre-packaged and self-sufficient humanitarian aid modules that can be rapidly deployed to disaster-affected areas to provide essential services such as water supply, sanitation, medical care, and shelter. They are designed to be flexible and adaptable to different types of emergencies, and can be deployed as a standalone unit or integrated into a larger response effort. The ERUs are operated by National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies coordinated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). ERUs are equipped with trained personnel, specialized equipment and materials, and are able to provide support to affected communities within 72 h of deployment.

ERU Health modules are an important component of the RCRC disaster response. Health modules with different configurations and capabilities are available. The emergency clinic module (fixed or mobile) can provide outpatient services. The fixed clinic can provide initial emergency care of injuries and other significant health care needs for adults and children. Mobile emergency clinic can provide primary health care and urgent services to adults and children within hard-to-reach communities [ 1 ]. The emergency hospital module can provide acute medical care, general and obstetric surgery for trauma and other major medical conditions [ 2 ]. The RCRC ERUs are the equivalent of Type 1 (fixed and mobile) and Type 2 facilities in the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) classification from the World Health Organization (WHO), which is regulated through the Red Channel Agreement [ 3 ].

The key feature of EMTs is their classification by the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure treatment quality and logistical operational capability. In the event of an incident, EMTs are requested and coordinated by the respective government of the affected country. The global ‘EMT Initiative’ led by the WHO is a consequence of the earthquake disaster in Haiti in 2010, where many emergency teams were deployed in an uncoordinated manner without quality control. The goal of the initiative is to improve the quality and availability of emergency medical care by increasing the number of well-trained and well-equipped emergency medical teams [ 4 ]. The EMT initiative also aims to promote the integration of emergency medical services into national health systems and to improve the coordination of emergency medical care at the international level.

As part of the EMT initiative, WHO has established a Minimum Data Set (MDS) for Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) to facilitate the reporting and monitoring of EMTs [ 5 ]. The items of the MDS were defined in a working group [ 6 ]. The MDS is a set of standardized data elements that EMTs are required to report to the Emergency Medical Team Coordination Cell (EMTCC) on a daily basis. The EMTCC shares the MDS reports in aggregated form with the ministry of health of the affected country and with other relevant stakeholders. This data is used to track the deployment and performance of EMTs and to identify areas for improvement.

The MDS for EMTs is intended to be used by EMTs, national health authorities, and international organizations to improve the quality and availability of emergency medical care. By providing a standardized set of data elements, the MDS allows for the comparison of different EMTs and the identification of best practices.

Standardization of data collection and reporting within EMTs is challenging [ 7 ]. In past deployments, the Red Cross Red Crescent Type 1 and Type 2 facilities have collected data by hand using paper-based form and Excel spreadsheets. This process can be laborious, time-consuming, and often inaccurate.

The Red Cross Red Crescent Health Information System (RCHIS) has been designed to improve clinical document and reporting within the RCRC Health ERUs, to ensure that reporting is accurate and easy to complete, increasing compliance with the EMT-MDS reporting.

RCHIS is an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Health Information System (HIS) that has been purpose built for use by RCRC ERUs and enables live operational updates (see Fig.  1 ). The aim of this case presentation is to share the main lessons learned from the development and pilot use of RCHIS to inform development and implementation of similar systems in other EMTs.

Components of RCHIS

The need for an EMR and HIS for the ERUs was identified in 2015 and a landscape analysis was conducted to examine existing solutions and assess their fit for the ERU context. The analysis yielded that no existing tool are fit for the purpose and the need to develop a purpose-build tool.

The development was done in an iterative process as a collaboration between IFRC Emergency Health team, IFRC IT department, RCRC national societies and an external software development company. A series of workshops were conducted to design the different modules of RCHIS, including bringing in expert advice from National Societies.

RCHIS can be run on Android tablet or Windows Laptop and works on- and offline. The data is synced and stored on a secure Microsoft Azure cloud. In addition, a local ERU server is deployed to enable synchronization between the end-user devices in case of interruptions to the internet connection. Figure  2 gives an overview of the technical architecture of RCHIS. The components within an ERU are Android tablets and Windows laptops, on which the RCHIS application is running and are used by the end users and a local network, wired and wireless. Additional optional components are printers with a network connection and a ERU server, that serves as a local synchronization. The ERU network is connected to the internet. Data from the end user devices and the local ERU server are send to the cloud-based Microsoft Azure servers.

Architecture of RCHIS

The functional architecture is designed to cover all clinical functions of both ERU clinics and hospitals (see Fig.  3 ). Elements required for mandatory reporting were added into the application as dropdown and selection elements, while many other elements consist of free text fields. The reasoning behind using free text fields was to streamline the user experience and ensure that the application is not preventing clinicians from doing their work when using the application.

Functional map of RCHIS

The first pilot of both the end user-training and use of RCHIS was done May 2022 with the Portuguese Red Cross (PRC) [ 8 ]. First, a three-day, in-person super user training was held with 13 participants: nine first aid volunteers, two nurses, and two medical doctors; seven delegates had experience using an EMR. These super users served as trainers for staff at the pilot.

The pilot occurred with the PRC at the Peregrinação de Fátima. The Peregrinação de Fátima is the annual to the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Fátima in Central Portugal, which attracts large groups from all over Portugal and beyond. In 2022, there where 200,000 people were in attendance. The PRC was part of a wider coordination cell with the civil defense authority, who required live reporting from the three clinics PRC had set up. During the four-day pilot, 77 user accounts and 243 patient files were created. The delegates shared feedback directly and through a survey. 88% stated that RCHIS was very easy to use with the majority of delegates requiring less than 30 min of training. 95% of delegates stated that they had sufficient training to use RCHIS to its full extent. The civil defense authority was able to utilize the real-time reporting to assist in their operational response.

The training of both clinical and managerial end-users of RCHIS has been designed as a training of trainers’ approach. Super users and expert users, which will train end-user prior to and during deployment as well as will serve as first level support during a deployment, are trained in a 4 day in-person training. The training consists of mixture of instructive lectures and simulations exercises. After a first pilot of the training during the RCHIS pilot in Portugal, a first dedicated training was held in September 2022.

In addition to clinical documentation, reporting is another main function of RCHIS. This includes both the automated generation of the WHO MDS daily reporting form and additional reporting for operational and donor reporting.

Especially the daily MDS reporting of all cases, which is required by an WHO mandated EMT mission, to the EMTCC is very labor intensive and error-prone if done based off paper-based documentation. RCHIS can help to reduce the time necessary to generate and share the daily MDS report significantly [ 9 ].

Discussion and conclusions

After the need for an EMR and HIS system for the RCRC ERUs has been identified, the initial concept and design phase of RCHIS required significant effort by key stakeholders within the RCRC movement to ensure best fit of this purpose-built solution. All clinical functions of the clinical ERUs can be documented with RCHIS and administrative functions can be supported with automated reporting functions such as the MDS generation.

The first pilot of RCHIS in a domestic setting with a type 1 fixed clinical equivalent was successful and served as the first test of the feasibility of RCHIS. The pilot was successful from both a technical and organizational perspective and included a first pilot of the training concept. The training of trainer concept for RCHIS worked and delegates trained by those training during the first training were able and comfortable in using RCHIs. Following the pilot, RCHIS is continuously being used in a domestic setting in Portugal. Additional end-user feedback on the tool and newly developed features is being collected during those uses. In addition, the domestic use of RCHIS by RCRC societies in other countries is in preparation. The domestic pilot is an important step towards the use of RCHIS in international disaster responses.

Improved clinical documentation is beneficial for patient safety and quality of care within the ERUs. Automated reporting, such as the automatic generation of the daily MDS reporting form can considerably lessens the burden of the ERU leadership. In addition, compared to the manual compilation of the MDS based off paper-based records utilizing tally sheets, the automated development of the daily MDS report based off the EMR data improves record completeness and correctness.

Detailed preparations and SOPs will be needed to meet the challenges of using an electronic documentation system like RCHIS in the context of EMTs, especially in view of the short preparation times for international operations. It is essential to ensure interoperability with digital coordination tools for the EMTCC that are currently being designed and developed. Having procedures in place to ensure appropriate processes for obtaining patient consent is key. Long-term, the ability to share data with other EMTs will be beneficial to ensure continuity of care during major emergencies.

Additional super- and expert-user trainings were conducted in 2023 and preparations for first international deployments with clinical ERUs are underway.

Data availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

Emergency Response Unit

Electronic Medical Record

Emergency Medical Team

Emergency Medical Teams Coordination Cell

Health Information System

Minimum Data Set

Red Cross and Rec Crescent Health Information System

Red Cross Red Crescent

World Health Organization

IFRC, ERU RED CROSS RED, CRESCENT EMERGENCY CLINIC [Internet]. [cited 2023 Feb 21]. Available from: https://go.ifrc.org/deployments/catalogue/health/eru-red-cross-red-crescent-emergency-clinic .

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank staff members and delegates from all the national societies that participated in design, testing, and training session that were instrumental for the success of RCHIS. Special thanks to the Swiss Red Cross for participating in a table top exercise, to German Red Cross for running a pilot training and to the Portuguese Red Cross for the RCHIS pilot.

The RCHIS project has received funding from Norwegian Red Cross, Japanese Red Cross, Finnish Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross and German Red Cross as well as Resources from IFRC were used to cover salaries from staff members working on the project.

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DigiHealth Institute, Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, Wileystr. 1, 89231, Neu-Ulm, Germany

German Red Cross, Berlin, Germany

Felix Holl & Lauren Clarke

International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, Switzerland

Thomas Raffort & Elvire Serres

World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

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International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Budapest, Hungary

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FH collected the data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. LC supported data collected and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript TR created part of the figures. TR, ES, LA, and PS revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Felix Holl .

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Felix Holl has training in medical informatics and global health. He is a postdoctoral scholar at the DigiHealth Institute, Neu-Ulm, and a health informatics consultant for German Red Cross. He has served as the coordinator of the Emergency Medical Teams Coordination Cell in Moldova.

Lauren Clarke is a medical doctor by training and has a background in disaster response. She is the senior officer for medical services in emergencies at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

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Holl, F., Clarke, L., Raffort, T. et al. The Red Cross Red Crescent Health Information System (RCHIS): an electronic medical records and health information management system for the red cross red crescent emergency response units. Confl Health 18 , 28 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-024-00585-6

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Received : 27 June 2023

Accepted : 20 March 2024

Published : 08 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-024-00585-6

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