title: Misconceptions about Ebola virus disease among lay people in Guinea: Lessons for community education.
abstract: To characterize the perception of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea, we administered, from November 2014 to February 2015, a questionnaire to a convenience sample of 200 lay people in Conakry and a group of 8 physicians. We found widespread misconceptions among lay people, including that praying to God can protect against EVD, that traditional healers are more competent than physicians in treating EVD, that people get infected through physical proximity without contact, that the Ebola epidemic is the result of Western bioterrorism experiments, that Western medical staff disseminated the virus, and that the purpose of quarantine measures is to hasten the death of Ebola patients. Major educational interventions, sensitive to local cultural beliefs, are needed to overcome the misconceptions about Ebola in Guinea.
authors: University of Québec - TELUQ, Montréal, Canada.
authors: Lonzozou
authors: L
authors: Kpanake
authors: University of Conakry, Conakry, Guinea.
authors: Komlantsè
authors: K
authors: Gossou
authors: Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave, Albany, NY 12208, USA.|Albany Medical Center Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, 724 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Latham, NY 12110, USA.
authors: Paul Clay
authors: PC
authors: Sorum
authors: Institute of Advanced Studies (EPHE), Paris, France.
authors: Etienne
authors: E
authors: Mullet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D016701:Guinea; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult