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dc.contributor.authorAdongo, Philip Baba
dc.contributor.authorTabong, Philip Teg-Nefaah
dc.contributor.authorAsampong, Emmanuel
dc.contributor.authorAnsong, Joana
dc.contributor.authorRobalo, Magda
dc.contributor.authorAdanu, Richard M
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-15T23:08:51Z
dc.date.available2023-06-15T23:08:51Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.identifier.issn1935-2735en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pntd.0004852en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/409515
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a condition with high fatality. Though the disease is deadly, taking precautions to reduce contact with infected people and their secretions can prevent cross- infection. In the 2014 EVD outbreak, socio-cultural factors were identified to be responsible for the spread of the disease in the three most affected countries in West Africa. In this light, we undertook this study to identify socio-cultural factors that may influence the prevention and containment of EVD in Ghana and ways to address such practices. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive qualitative study in five regions in Ghana. Twenty-five focus group discussions (5 in each region) with community members (4 in each region) and nurses (1 in each region) were conducted. In addition, forty (40) in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders and opinion leaders; eight in each region. All interviews were recorded using a digital voice recorder and transcribed. With the aid of Nvivo 10 for windows, we analyzed the data using framework analysis. RESULTS: We found that socio-cultural practices, such as care of the body of dead and burial practices, widowhood rites and anointing children with water used to rinse the dead, were common. These practices require individuals coming into direct contact with either the dead or items used to take care of the dead. Social norms also require frequent handshakes in all social gatherings such as funeral, and religious congregations. We also found that self-medication (using herbs and orthodox medications) was a common practice. People use both biomedical and non-orthodox health outlets either simultaneously or in sequence in times of ill-health. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that high risk socio-cultural practices were common among Ghanaians and generally perceived as indispensable. These high risk practices may hinder containment efforts in the event of an outbreak. Community leaders should be engaged in any social mobilization to modify these practices as part of preparation efforts.en_US
dc.description.peerreviewedYesen_US
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.publisherPUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCEen_US
dc.relation.ispartofjournalPLOS Neglected Tropical Diseasesen_US
dc.relation.ispartofvolume10en_US
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiological sciencesen_US
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiomedical and clinical sciencesen_US
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode31en_US
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode32en_US
dc.subject.keywordsScience & Technologyen_US
dc.subject.keywordsLife Sciences & Biomedicineen_US
dc.subject.keywordsInfectious Diseasesen_US
dc.subject.keywordsParasitologyen_US
dc.subject.keywordsTropical Medicineen_US
dc.titlePreparing towards Preventing and Containing an Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak: What Sociocultural Practices May Affect Containment Efforts in Ghana?en_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articlesen_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationAdongo, PB; Tabong, PT-N; Asampong, E; Ansong, J; Robalo, M; Adanu, RM, Preparing towards Preventing and Containing an Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak: What Sociocultural Practices May Affect Containment Efforts in Ghana?, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2016, 10en_US
dcterms.dateAccepted2016-06-26
dcterms.licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.date.updated2021-10-28T04:01:06Z
dc.description.versionVersion of Record (VoR)en_US
gro.rights.copyright© 2016 Adongo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_US
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorRobalo, Magda


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