Table 4. Ebola knowledge, attitudes and prevention practices before and after the outbreak peak, Sierra Leone, 2014–2015.
| Ebola knowledge, attitude or prevention practice | Surveys before the outbreak peaka |
Surveys after the outbreak peakb |
Odds of respondents giving the desired response after the outbreak peak compared with beforec |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. respondents | No. giving a positive response | Percentage giving a positive response (95% CI) | No. respondents | No. giving a positive response | Percentage giving a positive response (95% CI) | aOR (95% CI) | ||
| Knowledge | ||||||||
| 1. Ebola is preventable by avoiding contact with a corpse | 3471 | 3141 | 90.5 (87.3–92.9) | 7099 | 6741 | 95.0 (93.9–95.9) | 2.1 (1.4–3.0) | |
| 2. Early medical care of Ebola increases the chance of survival | 3466 | 3192 | 92.1 (90.3–93.6) | 7097 | 6791 | 95.7 (94.9–96.4) | 2.4 (1.8–3.2) | |
| 3. Early medical care of Ebola reduces household transmission | 3483 | 3226 | 92.6 (90.7–94.2) | 7097 | 6552 | 92.3 (91.0–93.4) | 1.0 (0.8–1.4) | |
| Misconception | ||||||||
| 4. Bathing with salt and hot water prevents Ebola | 3451 | 1288 | 37.3 (34.7–40.1) | 7088 | 1651 | 23.3 (20.8–26.0) | 0.4 (0.3–0.5) | |
| 5. Spiritual healers can successfully treat Ebola | 3481 | 553 | 15.9 (13.3–18.9) | 7100 | 352 | 5.0 (4.0–6.1) | 0.2 (0.1–0.3) | |
| 6. Traditional healers can successfully treat Ebola | 3484 | 146 | 4.2 (3.4–5.1) | 7100 | 112 | 1.6 (1.2–2.0) | 0.3 (0.2–0.5) | |
| Social acceptance of survivors | ||||||||
| 7. Would welcome back Ebola survivor into the community | 3474 | 2084 | 60.0 (51.5–67.9) | 7089 | 6339 | 89.4 (87.8–90.8) | 6.0 (3.9–9.1) | |
| 8. Would buy fresh vegetables from Ebola survivor shopkeeper | 3468 | 1909 | 55.0 (49.1–60.8) | 7097 | 5908 | 83.2 (81.4–85.0) | 4.5 (3.4–5.9) | |
| 9. Ebola survivor student does not put class at risk of Ebola | 3454 | 1940 | 56.2 (50.0–62.1) | 7094 | 5045 | 71.1 (68.2–73.8) | 2.1 (1.5–2.9) | |
| Acceptance of safe burial practices | ||||||||
| 10. Would avoid touching or washing a corpsed | 2076 | 1873 | 90.2 (87.2–92.6) | 7098 | 6777 | 95.5 (94.7–96.2) | 2.3 (1.6–3.3) | |
| 11. Would wait for the Ebola burial team to bury the bodyd | 2078 | 1787 | 86.0 (82.4–88.9) | 7100 | 6806 | 95.9 (95.0–96.6) | 4.4 (3.2–6.0) | |
| 12. Would accept safe alternatives to traditional burial ritualsd | 2076 | 1334 | 64.3 (59.2–69.0) | 7084 | 5872 | 82.9 (80.3–85.2) | 3.9 (2.8–5.3) | |
| Self-reported prevention practices | ||||||||
| 13. Uptake of any Ebola prevention practice | 3493 | 3366 | 96.4 (95.0–97.4) | 7087 | 6894 | 97.3 (96.7–97.8) | 1.5 (0.9–2.2) | |
| 14. Wash hands with soap and water more often | 3480 | 2618 | 75.2 (71.5–78.6) | 6995 | 5846 | 83.6 (81.5–85.5) | 1.9 (1.4–2.5) | |
| 15. Avoid physical contact with suspected Ebola patients | 3495 | 1235 | 35.3 (30.0–41.0) | 6995 | 2660 | 38.0 (35.2–40.9) | 1.3 (1.1–1.7) | |
| 16. Avoid burials that involve contact with a corpsed | 2086 | 569 | 27.3 (23.0–32.0) | 6995 | 3373 | 48.2 (45.2–51.3) | 3.1 (2.4–4.2) | |
CI: confidence interval; aOR: adjusted odds ratio.
a Two surveys were conducted before the outbreak peak, in August and October 2014.
b Two surveys were conducted after the outbreak peak, in December 2014 and July 2015.
c The adjusted odds ratio was derived using a multivariable model adjusted for the regional Ebola transmission level, sex, age, education and religion.
d As this item was introduced in the second survey in October 2014, numbers for the period before the outbreak peak were derived from the October 2014 survey alone.