Knowledge and risk perception about an Ebola virus outbreak: a comparative study of Ghana and Liberia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background New and emerging infectious diseases such as the Ebola virus and the recent coronavirus create ideal conditions for cross-border disease outbreaks. The need to undertake comparative studies across contexts in affected regions becomes important for health communication and policy decision making. The purpose of this study is to compare the differences in knowledge, risk perception, affect, and self-efficacy about Ebola between respondents in an affected and an unaffected but proximate country in West Africa. Method This study used a survey with multi-stage sampling of community members in two peri-urban districts in Ghana and Liberia. Results Transmission knowledge lowered comparative vulnerability and perceived risk, while knowledge about signs and symptoms and knowledge about prevention increased self-efficacy. But knowledge was not a predictor of self-efficacy. Affective imagery analysis presents distinct affective profiles of respondents in the two countries. Conclusions Different kinds of knowledge relate to risk perception and self-efficacy differently and this should be considered when developing health communication campaigns. Health and risk communication should no longer be just a context specific affair but must have a regional or sub-regional component that considers unaffected but at-risk countries. Finally, risk and health communicators need to consider the affective states of community members because affective states may indicate the basic feeling (individual and societal) profile of the audience, which will be beneficial for determining the level and type of messaging likely to be effective.