"When Ebola enters a home, a family, a community”: A qualitative study of population perspectives on Ebola control measures in rural and urban areas of Sierra Leone

BACKGROUND:

During the West Africa Ebola outbreak, cultural practices have been described as hindering response efforts. The acceptance of control measures improved during the outbreak, but little is known about how and why this occurred. We conducted a qualitative study in two administrative districts of Sierra Leone to understand Ebola survivor, community, and health worker perspectives on Ebola control measures. We aimed to gain an understanding of community interactions with the Ebola response to inform future intervention strategies.