| Title |
The Role of Fear-Related Behaviors in the 2013–2016 West Africa Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Current Psychiatry Reports, October 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s11920-016-0741-y |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
James M. Shultz, Janice L. Cooper, Florence Baingana, Maria A. Oquendo, Zelde Espinel, Benjamin M. Althouse, Louis Herns Marcelin, Sherry Towers, Maria Espinola, Clyde B. McCoy, Laurie Mazurik, Milton L. Wainberg, Yuval Neria, Andreas Rechkemmer |
| Abstract |
The 2013-2016 West Africa Ebola virus disease pandemic was the largest, longest, deadliest, and most geographically expansive outbreak in the 40-year interval since Ebola was first identified. Fear-related behaviors played an important role in shaping the outbreak. Fear-related behaviors are defined as "individual or collective behaviors and actions initiated in response to fear reactions that are triggered by a perceived threat or actual exposure to a potentially traumatizing event. FRBs modify the future risk of harm." This review examines how fear-related behaviors were implicated in (1) accelerating the spread of Ebola, (2) impeding the utilization of life-saving Ebola treatment, (3) curtailing the availability of medical services for treatable conditions, (4) increasing the risks for new-onset psychological distress and psychiatric disorders, and (5) amplifying the downstream cascades of social problems. Fear-related behaviors are identified for each of these outcomes. Particularly notable are behaviors such as treating Ebola patients in home or private clinic settings, the "laying of hands" on Ebola-infected individuals to perform faith-based healing, observing hands-on funeral and burial customs, foregoing available life-saving treatment, and stigmatizing Ebola survivors and health professionals. Future directions include modeling the onset, operation, and perpetuation of fear-related behaviors and devising strategies to redirect behavioral responses to mass threats in a manner that reduces risks and promotes resilience. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Comoros | 1 | 50% |
| Unknown | 1 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 50% |
| Scientists | 1 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 402 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 401 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 72 | 18% |
| Student > Bachelor | 40 | 10% |
| Researcher | 37 | 9% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 36 | 9% |
| Other | 25 | 6% |
| Other | 74 | 18% |
| Unknown | 118 | 29% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 73 | 18% |
| Psychology | 44 | 11% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 37 | 9% |
| Social Sciences | 28 | 7% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 13 | 3% |
| Other | 65 | 16% |
| Unknown | 142 | 35% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 141. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 25 February 2023.
All research outputs
#295,255
of 25,576,801 outputs
Outputs from Current Psychiatry Reports
#46
of 1,287 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#5,630
of 326,263 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Current Psychiatry Reports
#2
of 21 outputs
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