Table 3. Surveys of Ebola knowledge, attitudes and prevention practices during an outbreak, Sierra Leone, 2014–2015.
| Ebola knowledge, attitude or prevention practice | Respondents giving a positive response, by survey date |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2014 (n = 1413) |
October 2014 (n = 2086) |
December 2014 (n = 3540) |
July 2015 (n = 3564) |
|||||
| No.a | % (95% CI)b | No.c | % (95% CI)b | No.d | % (95% CI)b | No.e | % (95% CI)b | |
| Knowledge | ||||||||
| 1. Ebola is preventable by avoiding contact with a corpse | 1182 | 84.7 (77.9–89.7) | 1959 | 94.3 (92.4–95.8) | 3414 | 96.4 (95.3–97.4) | 3327 | 93.4 (91.6–94.9) |
| 2. Early medical care of Ebola increases the chance of survival | 1254 | 90.3 (86.7–93.0) | 1938 | 93.3 (91.4–94.8) | 3372 | 95.4 (94.0–96.4) | 3419 | 96.0 (94.9–96.9) |
| 3. Early medical care of Ebola reduces household transmission | 1284 | 91.3 (86.8–94.4) | 1942 | 93.5 (91.9–94.8) | 3258 | 92.1 (90.1–93.8) | 3294 | 92.5 (90.9–93.9) |
| Misconception | ||||||||
| 4. Bathing with salt and hot water prevents Ebola | 571 | 41.6 (37.4–46.0) | 717 | 34.5 (31.5–37.5) | 1117 | 31.6 (28.0–35.4) | 534 | 15.0 (12.6–17.8) |
| 5. Spiritual healers can successfully treat Ebola | 275 | 19.6 (14.8–25.6) | 278 | 13.4 (10.8–16.4) | 207 | 5.8 (4.6–7.4) | 145 | 4.1 (2.8–5.8) |
| 6. Traditional healers can successfully treat Ebola | 80 | 5.7 (4.3–7.5) | 66 | 3.2 (2.4–4.1) | 66 | 1.9 (1.4–2.5) | 46 | 1.3 (0.8–1.9) |
| Social acceptance of survivors | ||||||||
| 7. Would welcome back Ebola survivor into the community | 312 | 22.4 (17.2–29.0) | 1772 | 85.2 (83.0–87.2) | 3170 | 90.0 (87.4–91.6) | 3169 | 89.2 (86.8–91.1) |
| 8. Would buy fresh vegetables from Ebola survivor shopkeeper | 447 | 32.0 (26.7–37.9) | 1462 | 70.5 (67.0–73.8) | 2934 | 83.0 (80.3–85.3) | 2974 | 83.5 (80.8–85.9) |
| 9. Ebola survivor student does not put class at risk of Ebola | 452 | 32.8 (25.8–40.7) | 1488 | 71.6 (67.4–75.6) | 2541 | 71.9 (67.5–75.9) | 2504 | 70.4 (66.5–74.0) |
| Acceptance of safe burial practices | ||||||||
| 10. Would avoid touching or washing a corpsef | ND | ND | 1873 | 90.2 (87.2–92.6) | 3362 | 95.0 (93.9–96.0) | 3415 | 95.9 (94.8–96.8) |
| 11. Would wait for the Ebola burial team to bury the bodyf | ND | ND | 1787 | 86.0 (82.4–90.0) | 3404 | 96.2 (95.0–97.2) | 3402 | 95.5 (94.3–96.5) |
| 12. Would accept safe alternatives to traditional burial ritualsf | ND | ND | 1334 | 64.3 (59.2–69.0) | 3049 | 86.3 (83.1–89.0) | 2823 | 79.5 (75.6–83.0) |
| Self-reported prevention practices | ||||||||
| 13. Uptake of any Ebola prevention practice | 1344 | 95.1 (92.2–97.0) | 2022 | 97.2 (95.7–98.2) | 3439 | 97.3 (96.2–98.0) | 3455 | 97.3 (96.3–97.9) |
| 14. Wash hands with soap and water more often | 917 | 65.8 (59.3–71.7) | 1701 | 81.5 (78.2–84.5) | 2790 | 78.8 (75.7–81.7) | 3056 | 88.5 (85.9–90.6) |
| 15. Avoid physical contact with suspected Ebola patients | 498 | 35.3 (24.1–48.4) | 737 | 35.3 (31.5–39.4) | 1538 | 43.4 (39.5–47.5) | 1122 | 32.5 (28.8–36.3) |
| 16. Avoid burials that involve contact with a corpsef | ND | ND | 569 | 27.3 (23.0–32.0) | 1673 | 47.3 (42.9–51.7) | 1700 | 49.2 (45.0–53.4) |
CI: confidence interval; ND: not determined.
a The total number of valid responses in the August 2014 survey ranged from 1371 to 1409; missing values accounted for less than 3% of all responses.
b Percentages are of the total number of survey participants.
c The total number of valid responses in the October 2014 survey ranged from 2070 to 2086; missing values accounted for less than 1% of all responses.
d The total number of valid responses in the December 2014 survey ranged from 3534 to 3540; missing values accounted for less than 1% of all responses.
e The total number of valid responses in the July 2015 survey ranged from 3455 to 3563; missing values accounted for less than 4% of all responses.
f Item not included in the first survey in August 2014.