| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this thesis is to explore user participation through user feedback, based on the case of the digital global public good (DGPG) District Health Information System (DHIS2). This research draws on three important contextual conditions: capacity building, maturity of the system and DGPG which impact the feedback process and the creation of quality feedback. It explores field data collected by the authors in the two low- middle income countries (LMIC), Sri Lanka and Nepal. The socio-political conditions of LMICs tend to favour a top-down approach, in which the lower-level users are not considered. Based on this fact, the study incorporates participants from facility level who stated their non-involvement during the system implementation and while the system is running. In order to encourage such users, feedback serves as their voices, which was not heard for a long time and feedback system serves as a bridge between them and stakeholders for a collaborative development process. The intriguing element of this study is that it will contribute to the domain of research on user participation in an operational system. Research on user participation often focuses on user participation during the early design and development process of a new system, but in this case the system is already operational. The research question raised in this thesis is: What are the available means for users to provide feedback while working with an operational open-source-based Health Information System (HIS), and how effective is this feedback addressed by the developers and implementers? The study investigates the problem and challenges surrounding the utilisation of user participation, to be more precise the focus of the study is to encourage user participation in a system that is in regular use. As the main approach of user participation this study suggests implementation of a digital feedback system, and the process that must be undergone for a successful feedback system. To do that 1) the capacity needs to be strengthened within the country so that health personnel are knowledgeable and skilled to use the HIS. 2) The government and people must work closely to overcome the economic, political, and geographical challenges, so that the system can mature in a progressive manner. 3) A system producer claiming a system to be DGPG should also consider the users around the globe and encourage awareness about DGPG. | eng |