ArticleJMIR medical informatics2026
Operationalizing One Digital Health and FAIR Data Principles for Disease Surveillance in a Low-Medium Income Country in Africa: Qualitative Study in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Article in JMIR medical informatics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRecent crises involving zoonotic diseases (Ebola, COVID-19, and Mpox) have highlighted the limitations of fragmented public health systems for the prevention and response to health emergencies at the international and continental level, and particularly in Africa, more specifically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In this context, the One Health (OH) approach and its extension, One Digital Health (ODH), articulated with the findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR) principles, offer a framework for rethinking the digital transition in health in the DRC. This study analyzes the reality of this transition in Kinshasa, DRC, and questions the feasibility of ODH in this context.
objectiveThis study aimed to (1) explore how stakeholders across human, animal, and environmental health sectors perceive and experience digital tool integration and data interoperability in Kinshasa; (2) identify structural, institutional, and technical constraints affecting cross-sectoral data sharing; and (3) analyze the sociotechnical conditions required for the operationalization of ODH in a fragmented digital health (DH) context.
methodsA qualitative study was conducted in Kinshasa, DRC, between November 10, 2025, and November 25, 2025, combining semistructured interviews with key actors (health professionals, administrative officials, digital experts, and engaged citizens) and a document review of strategic and regulatory texts related to DH in the DRC. The data were analyzed using a thematic approach to identify the representations, uses, and constraints related to DH and the operationalization of ODH.
resultsOverall, 22 stakeholders participated (n=9, 40.9% human health; n=8, 36.4% animal health; n=4, 18.2% environmental health; n=1, 4.50% digital sector), predominantly male (n=15, 68.2%) and mainly in operational roles (n=12, 54.5%). Three interrelated topics emerged. First, a dual-track digital ecosystem characterized by the coexistence of formal platforms (eg, District Health Information Software 2 and electronic records) and informal tools (eg, WhatsApp [Meta]), with persistent paper-digital double-entry generating inefficiencies. Second, structural and governance bottlenecks, including electricity instability, limited connectivity, software incompatibility, external data-hosting concerns that affect sovereignty, and institutional silos that privilege human health over animal and environmental sectors. Third, prerequisites for operationalizing ODH emphasize foundational infrastructure (energy and internet), sustainable capacity building beyond one-off training, interoperable "bridges" between fragmented systems, and high-level political leadership. These elements were synthesized into an ODH-FAIR DRC conceptual model structured around three enabling pillars linking sectors for integrated zoonotic surveillance.
conclusionsOperationalizing ODH in DRC requires addressing foundational enablers beyond tools: synchronized energy-digital policies, decompartmentalized governance, and context-adapted capacity building. These insights inform low- and middle-income countries' DH strategies, urging donors and ministries to prioritize interoperability over isolated pilots to achieve sustainable zoonotic surveillance.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.