Abstract
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is often a severe and fatal disease. The objective of this study is to identify the psychological and social problems as well as the needs of people cured of Ebola. This work is a prospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study done within a period of three months, from 16 November 2014 to 15 February 2015. The population of this research consists of those who were infected by and cured of Ebola; they were 18 years and above and were both males and females. They have received treatment at Donka (CET) and are members of those affected and healed in Guinea (A.PE.GU.AEG); they were in Conakry during the study period and gave their consent to participate in our study. Of a total of 72 members, 55 (76.39%) met the inclusion criteria of this study. The average age was 29.9 ± 11.33 years [18-66 years] with a male predominance, sex ratio = 1.2. The average duration of isolation was 16 days with extremes of 6 and 25 days. The main psychological disorders experienced by people healed of Ebola are: fear, 85.45%; revivability, 43.64%; nightmare, 63.64%; stress, 56.36%; anxiety, 49.10%; insomnia, 45.45%; withdrawal, 43.63%; insomnia, 45.45%; distrust, 41.82%; discouragement, 41.82%; and those that want to die, 41.82%. On the social level, stigmatization from the neighborhood was 90.91% and distrust 58.18%. This study shows that people infected by and cured of Ebola suffer many psychological and behavioral disorders. Stigma and distrust are the major social problems. Key words: Ebola, psychosocial lived, Donka, Conakry.
Highlights
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is a severe and fatal disease
The objective of this study was to identify the psychological and social problems as well as the needs of people cured of Ebola
The population of this research consist of those infected by and cured of Ebola; they were 18 years and above, and were males and females. They received treatment at Donka (CET) and are members of those affected by and healed of Ebola in Guinea (A.PE.GU.AEG); they were in Conakry during the study period and gave their consent to participate in our study
Summary
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is a severe and fatal disease. The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976 at Zaire during an outbreak of hemorrhagic fevers. From December 2013, West Africa has faced the largest and most complex outbreak of Ebola ever recorded, and one of the first to reach the urban centers with high population density. Human transmission of the Ebola virus is primarily linked to direct or indirect contact with blood and body fluids (WHO, 2014). The virus was detected in blood, stool, vomit, urine, saliva, seminal secretions, breast milk, tears and sweat of infected individuals (Bruyand et al, 2014; Bausch et al, 2007; Formenty et al, 2006). Transmission can occur through direct contact with infected animals or material. There is no specific treatment that has proven effective, but treatment and experimental vaccines are being evaluated (Bruyand et al, 2014)
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