582298
research-article2015
PED22210.1177/1757975915582298EditorialB. Taverne
Editorial Preparing for Ebola outbreaks: not without the social sciences! Bernard Taverne1 for the Coordination Committee of the West Africa Ebola Social and Human Sciences Network* There should no longer be any debate about the value of the social sciences when confronting the Ebola epidemic. In countries experiencing an outbreak, social scientists, including anthropologists and sociologists, were involved in the response early on to adapt informational messages for the public and promote acceptance of public health decisions (community surveillance of suspected cases, isolation of confirmed cases, safe burials, etc.). They worked not only to ‘humanize’ health care and funeral practices, but also to assess the social impacts of the epidemic. Experience regarding the contribution of the social sciences was gained on the ground. In neighboring countries, health systems were trying to prevent an outbreak while simultaneously preparing for it. A medical response was organized to treat patients and limit transmission with the necessary equipment, training for medical staff, designated treatment areas, etc. Empirical knowledge gained in the most affected countries enabled other countries to plan better and faster, while improving upon initial strategies and procedures. The social sciences have had to become involved in preparing health systems, because epidemics now arrive ‘ahead of themselves’, since the dissemination of disease interpretations and their social effects precede the virus. Due to rapid and globalized information exchange, before even a single case was reported in a country, there were already entrenched rumors, conspiracy theories (such as it being a disease imported by Westerners, that there is a ‘vaccine’ that spreads the
disease, etc.), political interpretations that interfere with public health messages, xenophobic reactions, demands to close the borders and rejection of treatment protocols. Moreover, the extent to which a country is vulnerable to the epidemic relates closely to pre-existing social determinants that must be understood, in order to adapt the country’s response. These determinants can include migratory flows between countries, how borders are drawn relative to communities, the acceptability of the implemented prevention and screening system for the disease, the public’s relationship to the health system, intercommunity tensions, memories of other epidemics that shape public attitudes towards the current epidemic, whether the state’s intervention is repressive or inclusive vis-àvis civil society, media bias, etc. The spread of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa has revealed the fragility and shortcomings in the health systems of the affected countries. Beyond the immediate response to the epidemic and going forward, the contribution of the social sciences should be geared towards analyzing the social and political, as well as the local and global, causes of the epidemic. It is also time to start considering the ‘post-Ebola’ situation from a health promotion perspective that would take political (i.e. governance), social (i.e. involving civil society), economic and cultural aspects into account. As with any scientific discipline, the social sciences require dedicated resources and time to study these
1. Correspondence to: Unité Mixte Internationale (UMI) 233, l’Institute de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut Nationale de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U 1175, 911 avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. Email: [email protected] *The West Africa Ebola SHS Network Coordination Committee members (in alphabetical order) are: Francis Akindes (University A Ouattara, Côte d’Ivoire), Abdramane Berthe (Centre Muraz, Burkina Faso), Blandine Bila (Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Burkina Faso), JeanFrançois Caremel ((Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local [LASDEL]), Niger), Alice Desclaux (UMI 233 IRD, INSERM U 1175, Senegal), Abdoua Elhadji Dagobi (LASDEL, Niger), Marc Egrot (Unité Mixte de Recherche 224 IRD, Benin), Florence Fournet (UMR 224 IRD, Burkina Faso), Roch Houngnihin (University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin), and Bernard Taverne (UMI 233 IRD, INSERM U 1175, France). Global Health Promotion 1757-9759; Vol 22(2): 5 –6; 582298 Copyright © The Author(s) 2015, Reprints and permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1757975915582298 http://ghp.sagepub.com Downloaded from ped.sagepub.com by guest on November 14, 2015
6
B. Taverne
social aspects and to support the responses to health system failures or the public’s mistrust. In several countries at risk of epidemic in West Africa, social science teams have conducted research on EVD and participated in designing the national response. They have formed a network to promote information sharing and to develop a regional approach to the epidemic (1); however, to date, most of these teams are still struggling to find the funding required to conduct crucial studies. There is an urgent need to financially and institutionally support social science
research on a regional scale, in countries at risk of any epidemic. Decision makers must take note and allocate funding to ensure appropriate actions are taken. Conflict of interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Reference 1. http://shsebola.hypotheses.org (accessed 16 March 2015)
IUHPE – Global Health Promotion Vol. 22, No. 2 2015
Downloaded from ped.sagepub.com by guest on November 14, 2015
research-article2015
PED22210.1177/1757975915582298EditorialB. Taverne
Editorial Preparing for Ebola outbreaks: not without the social sciences! Bernard Taverne1 for the Coordination Committee of the West Africa Ebola Social and Human Sciences Network* There should no longer be any debate about the value of the social sciences when confronting the Ebola epidemic. In countries experiencing an outbreak, social scientists, including anthropologists and sociologists, were involved in the response early on to adapt informational messages for the public and promote acceptance of public health decisions (community surveillance of suspected cases, isolation of confirmed cases, safe burials, etc.). They worked not only to ‘humanize’ health care and funeral practices, but also to assess the social impacts of the epidemic. Experience regarding the contribution of the social sciences was gained on the ground. In neighboring countries, health systems were trying to prevent an outbreak while simultaneously preparing for it. A medical response was organized to treat patients and limit transmission with the necessary equipment, training for medical staff, designated treatment areas, etc. Empirical knowledge gained in the most affected countries enabled other countries to plan better and faster, while improving upon initial strategies and procedures. The social sciences have had to become involved in preparing health systems, because epidemics now arrive ‘ahead of themselves’, since the dissemination of disease interpretations and their social effects precede the virus. Due to rapid and globalized information exchange, before even a single case was reported in a country, there were already entrenched rumors, conspiracy theories (such as it being a disease imported by Westerners, that there is a ‘vaccine’ that spreads the
disease, etc.), political interpretations that interfere with public health messages, xenophobic reactions, demands to close the borders and rejection of treatment protocols. Moreover, the extent to which a country is vulnerable to the epidemic relates closely to pre-existing social determinants that must be understood, in order to adapt the country’s response. These determinants can include migratory flows between countries, how borders are drawn relative to communities, the acceptability of the implemented prevention and screening system for the disease, the public’s relationship to the health system, intercommunity tensions, memories of other epidemics that shape public attitudes towards the current epidemic, whether the state’s intervention is repressive or inclusive vis-àvis civil society, media bias, etc. The spread of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa has revealed the fragility and shortcomings in the health systems of the affected countries. Beyond the immediate response to the epidemic and going forward, the contribution of the social sciences should be geared towards analyzing the social and political, as well as the local and global, causes of the epidemic. It is also time to start considering the ‘post-Ebola’ situation from a health promotion perspective that would take political (i.e. governance), social (i.e. involving civil society), economic and cultural aspects into account. As with any scientific discipline, the social sciences require dedicated resources and time to study these
1. Correspondence to: Unité Mixte Internationale (UMI) 233, l’Institute de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut Nationale de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) U 1175, 911 avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. Email: [email protected] *The West Africa Ebola SHS Network Coordination Committee members (in alphabetical order) are: Francis Akindes (University A Ouattara, Côte d’Ivoire), Abdramane Berthe (Centre Muraz, Burkina Faso), Blandine Bila (Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Burkina Faso), JeanFrançois Caremel ((Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local [LASDEL]), Niger), Alice Desclaux (UMI 233 IRD, INSERM U 1175, Senegal), Abdoua Elhadji Dagobi (LASDEL, Niger), Marc Egrot (Unité Mixte de Recherche 224 IRD, Benin), Florence Fournet (UMR 224 IRD, Burkina Faso), Roch Houngnihin (University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin), and Bernard Taverne (UMI 233 IRD, INSERM U 1175, France). Global Health Promotion 1757-9759; Vol 22(2): 5 –6; 582298 Copyright © The Author(s) 2015, Reprints and permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1757975915582298 http://ghp.sagepub.com Downloaded from ped.sagepub.com by guest on November 14, 2015
6
B. Taverne
social aspects and to support the responses to health system failures or the public’s mistrust. In several countries at risk of epidemic in West Africa, social science teams have conducted research on EVD and participated in designing the national response. They have formed a network to promote information sharing and to develop a regional approach to the epidemic (1); however, to date, most of these teams are still struggling to find the funding required to conduct crucial studies. There is an urgent need to financially and institutionally support social science
research on a regional scale, in countries at risk of any epidemic. Decision makers must take note and allocate funding to ensure appropriate actions are taken. Conflict of interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Reference 1. http://shsebola.hypotheses.org (accessed 16 March 2015)
IUHPE – Global Health Promotion Vol. 22, No. 2 2015
Downloaded from ped.sagepub.com by guest on November 14, 2015
