Records Management Systems Employed by Registries in Zambia: A Case Study of Selected Departments in Health and Education in Livingstone

This study investigated the records management systems employed in the education and health sectors in Zambia, with a focus on their role in improving service delivery and decision-making. Using a mixed-methods triangulation design, data was collected through surveys, interviews, observations from registry users and key informants with a sample size of 150. 100 teachers where purposively sampled from the Education department specifically at the District Education Secretary registry with 5 key informants and 40 from the Livingstone Teaching Hospital registry with 5 key informants. Chi-square t-test and descriptive analysis was used in quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. The research demonstrated that Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are extensively utilised within the healthcare domain with 100% (n=40) response whereas responses at 100% (n=100) in the Education indicated a manual records management system was used. The study further explored the speed and efficacy of the two systems in record retrieval. Majority of records were accessed in a matter of minutes (70%, n=28) or seconds (20%, n=8) in the Health Sector, contrary to the Education domain where it was discovered majority took minutes (51%, n=51), 17% (n=17) took seconds and some records took days to be retrieved (8%, n=8). Furthermore, the study determined that records retrieval systems were generally viewed as effective, especially within the healthcare sector, despite the ongoing presence of challenges such as insufficient IT infrastructure, data integration difficulties, and deficient records management practices. Overall, while digital transformation has improved records management, the study highlights the need for continued investment in technology, staff training, and system integration to enhance efficiency and reliability across sectors.