Applications and challenges of simulation for healthcare operations management in Africa

This study identifies the applications and challenges of simulation for healthcare operations management in Africa using a systematic literature review and survey. Simulation has been used in Africa mainly to address problems of disease transmission and prevention and to analyze the effectiveness of diagnosis and/or treatment strategies. HIV and malaria have been studied widely using systems-dynamic, Monte Carlo, agent-based, and discrete-event simulation methods. However, the number of publications based on the first author’s affiliation revealed that out of the top 30 universities, only 5 of them are in Africa, to be specific in South Africa. This shows limited usage of simulation by researchers based in African universities. Besides, 58% of the survey participants, consisting of researchers with MSc (84%) and Ph.D. (10%) and 5–10 years of experience (70%), do not utilize their awareness of simulation for healthcare operation management due to a lack of organized data (71%), ICT infrastructure (69%), data security and privacy (68), ethical and responsible data use (65%), and attitudes of health professionals (63%). Besides, the lack of curricula on simulation in African universities, data sharing policy, awareness, and top management support have been limiting the adoption of simulation for healthcare operations management in Africa.