Epidemics have advanced along the side of technology and modern medicine developments. Because of this, it is important to maintain and update public health policies in order to prevent diseases like the West African Ebola Epidemic. The Ebola crisis originated in West Africa and spread through the region destroying communities and killing thousands. The Ebola scare expanded far past the borders in Africa to affect individuals across the world. Though there were not many infections in areas outside of Africa, Ebola was a world health crisis. There is no doubt that this disease was, and is, a disease worthy of being feared, but what was the lesson learned from it and why did it have the impact that it had? Some could argue that it was the pure
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Karen Glanz explains the Social Ecological model by saying that behaviors are both influenced by and influence the social environment around them in her research on social and behavioral theories. “Lessons From the West African Ebola Epidemic: Towards A Legacy of Strong Health Systems” written by Sarah Roache et al. describes the impact of the Ebola crisis in West Africa and what went wrong, making the disease as bad as it was. They investigate the roles of the international community, local communities, local tradition, government, and the health systems West African communities have in place. This paper brings up many controversial points on what exactly caused the severity of this epidemic. Mary-Jane Schneider’s “Why is Public Health Controversial” discusses the issues and complications of creating public health policies. She examines the political, moral, and economic barriers of public health policies. Poor Public health systems and poor community awareness and training resulted in the West African Ebola epidemic, causing the mass amount of damage and a lack of trust in the local …show more content…
With the disease infecting entire communities, people were looking for answers. When the government did not supply adequate answers, rumors began to circulate. One of the most influential rumors was that hospitals were causing Ebola. As a result, “patients have learned that hospitals are unsafe places, rife with Ebola contamination. Consequently, patients with Ebola-type symptoms stay away, fueling spread of infection in their communities” (Roache 3). The rumor started when people began noticing that their family members went into the hospital sick and died inside or that they went in healthy and came out sick. The hospitals were targeted because the health professionals could not properly contain the spread of the disease but also because the government told the community leaders to send their sick to the hospital. There was already a political divide in the country, so the government policy was an easy scapegoat. When the distrust lead the sick to avoid hospitals, they fled to their local communities, infecting others. The effect the distrust of the government had on its own people is difficult to measure. One truth is that the West African government let down its people. In the United States, “one of the primary purposes of the government is to ‘promote the general welfare.’ Health and safety, together with economic well-being, are the major factors that
Karen Glanz explains the Social Ecological model by saying that behaviors are both influenced by and influence the social environment around them in her research on social and behavioral theories. “Lessons From the West African Ebola Epidemic: Towards A Legacy of Strong Health Systems” written by Sarah Roache et al. describes the impact of the Ebola crisis in West Africa and what went wrong, making the disease as bad as it was. They investigate the roles of the international community, local communities, local tradition, government, and the health systems West African communities have in place. This paper brings up many controversial points on what exactly caused the severity of this epidemic. Mary-Jane Schneider’s “Why is Public Health Controversial” discusses the issues and complications of creating public health policies. She examines the political, moral, and economic barriers of public health policies. Poor Public health systems and poor community awareness and training resulted in the West African Ebola epidemic, causing the mass amount of damage and a lack of trust in the local …show more content…
With the disease infecting entire communities, people were looking for answers. When the government did not supply adequate answers, rumors began to circulate. One of the most influential rumors was that hospitals were causing Ebola. As a result, “patients have learned that hospitals are unsafe places, rife with Ebola contamination. Consequently, patients with Ebola-type symptoms stay away, fueling spread of infection in their communities” (Roache 3). The rumor started when people began noticing that their family members went into the hospital sick and died inside or that they went in healthy and came out sick. The hospitals were targeted because the health professionals could not properly contain the spread of the disease but also because the government told the community leaders to send their sick to the hospital. There was already a political divide in the country, so the government policy was an easy scapegoat. When the distrust lead the sick to avoid hospitals, they fled to their local communities, infecting others. The effect the distrust of the government had on its own people is difficult to measure. One truth is that the West African government let down its people. In the United States, “one of the primary purposes of the government is to ‘promote the general welfare.’ Health and safety, together with economic well-being, are the major factors that