Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40754316›Full record

ArticleTropical medicine & international health : TM & IH2025

Ebola Stigma and Its Impact on Outbreak Control: Lessons From Key Informant Interviews in Central Uganda.

Amy Paterson, Olive Kabajaasi, Francess Adlard, Kkunsa Hadson Dimitrios, Ashleigh Cheyne, Yasin Ssewankambo, David Kaggwa, Piero Olliaro, Nathan Kenya-Mugisha, Amanda Rojek

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Article in Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Amy PatersonPandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7862-8971
Olive KabajaasiWalimu, Kampala, Uganda.
Francess AdlardSchool of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Oxford, UK.
Kkunsa Hadson DimitriosSt Nikolas Pharmacy, Kampala, Uganda.
Ashleigh CheynePandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Yasin SsewankamboEntebbe Isolation Centre, Entebbe, Uganda.
David KaggwaFort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, Fort Portal, Uganda.
Piero OlliaroPandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Nathan Kenya-MugishaWalimu, Kampala, Uganda.
Amanda RojekPandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Funding

Moh Family FoundationRhodes Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe 2022 outbreak of Sudan ebolavirus in central Uganda was the country's largest in two decades. It was accompanied by reports of stigma towards affected individuals, households and communities. The objectives of this study were to (1) describe how Ebola disease stigma emerged and manifested during the 2022 Sudan ebolavirus outbreak in central Uganda, (2) examine its impacts, including on outbreak control and (3) identify insights that could inform stigma reduction strategies in future outbreaks.

methodsWe conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with 12 key informants involved in the Ebola disease outbreak response using Microsoft Teams. Participants included frontline healthcare workers, burial team members, psychosocial support staff, survivor programme staff, village health team members, local outbreak response leadership and Ebola survivors. Transcribed interviews were coded in NVivo Release 1.7.2 and analysed using framework analysis.

resultsContextual drivers of stigma included mistrust of authorities, limited knowledge about the disease and conspicuous survivor follow-up. These drivers fuelled negative thoughts and emotions, predominantly blame and fear. Interviewees described how stigma manifested as negative attitudes, verbal and physical harm, unwarranted avoidance and structural disadvantage, which persisted beyond the outbreak itself. Stigma was seen to impact outbreak control by discouraging symptom reporting, delaying care-seeking and exacerbating workforce shortages in clinical centres. Factors that mitigated stigma included psychosocial support and survivor advocacy.

conclusionsEbola-related stigma complicates outbreak control and has adverse psychosocial effects that linger long after the outbreak is declared over. We provide a range of multilevel strategies for reducing stigma, including engagement with trusted community leaders, survivor-centred support systems and provision of psychological support for responders.

Indexed as

Disease OutbreaksHemorrhagic Fever, EbolaSocial StigmaAdultFemaleHealth PersonnelHumansInterviews as TopicMaleQualitative ResearchUgandaEbola diseaseframework analysisoutbreak responsepublic health preparednessqualitative researchsocial determinants of healthstigmaSudan ebolavirus

Identifiers

PMID40754316
PMCPMC12401622

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.