02668nas a2200253 4500000000100000008004100001653002500042653001900067653001000086653001000096653002400106100001400130700001400144700001500158700001300173700001300186700001200199245012900211856007700340300001300417490000700430520196300437022001402400 2016 d10aoutbreak ebola virus10aMisconceptions10aGhana10aEbola10acommunity knowledge1 aAdongo PB1 aTabong PT1 aAsampong E1 aAnsong J1 aRobalo M1 aAdanu R00aBeyond knowledge and awareness: Addressing misconceptions in Ghana's preparation towards an outbreak of Ebola virus disease. uhttp://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0149627 ae01496270 v113 a
BACKGROUND: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is not new to the world. However, the West African EVD epidemic which started in 2014 evolved into the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the history of the disease. The three most-affected countries faced enormous challenges in stopping the transmission and providing care for all patients. Although Ghana had not recorded any confirmed Ebola case, social factors have been reported to hinder efforts to control the outbreak in the three most affected countries. This qualitative study was designed to explore community knowledge and attitudes about Ebola and its transmission.
METHODS: This study was carried out in five of the ten regions in Ghana. Twenty-five focus group discussions (N = 235) and 40 in-depth interviews were conducted across the five regions with community members, stakeholders and opinion leaders. The interviews were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim. Framework analysis was adopted in the analysis of the data using Nvivo 10.
RESULTS: The results showed a high level of awareness and knowledge about Ebola. The study further showed that knowledge on how to identify suspected cases of Ebola was also high among respondents. However, there was a firm belief that Ebola was a spiritual condition and could also be transmitted through air, mosquito bites and houseflies. These misconceptions resulted in perceptions of stigma and discrimination towards people who may get Ebola or work with Ebola patients.
CONCLUSION: We conclude that although knowledge and awareness about Ebola is high among Ghanaians who participated in the study, there are still misconceptions about the disease. The study recommends that health education on Ebola disease should move beyond creating awareness to targeting the identified misconceptions to improve future containment efforts.
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