This brief summarises key considerations concerning changes in behaviour and care-seeking practices in the context of the outbreak of Ebola in the Grand Nord of North Kivu, DRC, September 2018. Further participatory enquiry should be undertaken, but given ongoing transmission, conveying key considerations and immediate recommendations related to community engagement have been prioritised. This brief […]
Local health care
Within a health system, the different sources of care and advice people visit and trust when they are sick and the policies which influence them.
32 documents
Key Considerations: the Context of North Kivu Province, DRC
This brief summarises key considerations about the context of North Kivu province in relation to the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, August 2018. The province of North Kivu has six territories: Beni, Lubero, Masisi, Nyiragongo, Rutshuru, Walikale. At the time of writing, cases of Ebola had been positively confirmed in Beni territory, and cases […]
Revitalizing Health for All: Case Studies of the Struggle for Comprehensive Primary Health Care
While impressive medical and technological developments have improved health care around the world, improvements in health have been moderate and inconsistent across countries and communities. In response to this challenge, the World Health Organization outlined the concept of comprehensive primary health care, which involves not only providing a range of medical care from prevention to treatment, but also working to […]
Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Study to Investigate the Health System of Circonscription Socio-Sanitaire (CSS) Ignié Ngabé, Department of Pool, Republic of Congo
It is important to understand a population’s health behaviours and their underlying determinants such as knowledge, attitudes and beliefs related to health, when we seek to deliver appropriate health care services that may increase health service utilization and ultimately population health. Access and utilization of health services is difficult to define, being a multi-dimensional process that in […]
Antibiotic Prescribing in DR Congo: a Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey among Medical Doctors and Students
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) particularly hits resource poor countries, and is fuelled by irrational antibiotic (AB) prescribing. We surveyed knowledge, attitudes and practices of AB prescribing among medical students and doctors in Kisangani, DR Congo. This data shows the need for interventions that support rational AB prescribing. […]
Cultural Influences Behind Cholera Transmission in the Far North Region, Republic of Cameroon: A Field Experience and Implications for Operational Level Planning of Interventions
In recent years, the Far North Region of Cameroon has experienced serious and recurrent Cholera outbreaks. Yet, understanding of cultural influences on outbreaks and spread remain poorly understood. This qualitative study explored cultural influences on Cholera exposure in this region. Interviews and group discussions were conducted in two phases. Phase I involved key informants and […]
“It feels like I’m the dirtiest person in the world.”: Exploring the Experiences of Healthcare Providers who Survived MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia
In summer 2015, a Saudi 1000-bed tertiary care hospital experienced a serious outbreak among patients of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS); during which, some healthcare providers contracted the virus, but none died. The outbreak provoked not only fear and stress; but also professional, emotional, ethical, and social conflicts and tension among healthcare providers and patients […]
Strengthening Health Systems for Resilience
In countries with high levels of poverty or instability and with poor health system management and governance, people are highly vulnerable to shocks associated with ill health, including major epidemics. An effective health system can help build their resilience by reducing exposure to infection and minimising the impact of sickness on livelihoods and economic development. […]
Cultural Epidemiology of Pandemic Influenza in Urban and Rural Pune, India: A Cross-Sectional, Mixed-Methods Study
The objective of this study was to identify and compare socio-cultural features of pandemic influenza with reference to illness-related experience, meaning and behaviour in urban and rural areas of India. Cross-sectional, mixed-methods, cultural epidemiological survey with vignette-based interviews. Semi-structured explanatory model interviews were used to study community ideas of the 2009 influenza pandemic. In-depth interviews […]
Social and Cultural Factors Shaping Health and Nutrition, Wellbeing and Protection of the Rohingya within a Humanitarian Context
The Rohingya are a stateless predominantly Muslim minority that has traditionally lived in Arakan (aka Rakhine State), in Myanmar. Life in Myanmar has been characterised by severe restrictions on movement, livelihoods, political participation, religious life, marriage and procreation, and access to services. More than half a million Rohingya refugees, 60% of them children, have crossed […]
