Abstract
In response to the recent Ebola outbreak, many clinical and non-clinical staff and volunteers from various organisations worked relentlessly to control the outbreak and prevent its spread.
Guidelines and advice around occupational health and safety during an Ebola outbreak including prevention of Ebola in the workplace and responsibilities of staff, volunteers and employers have been developed. However, to date, there is little information to support the value of such guidance from the perspective of those who have worked in an Ebola outbreak.
Findings from this paper illustrate the importance of health briefing, informing the delegate’s family, standard operating procedures, appropriate training and recruiting a focal point for staff health-related questions.
Challenges are also reported in this study; it includes the importance of regular breaks, yet this is reliant on the recruitment of sufficient staff and volunteers. Where organisations are reliant on external entities such as emergency assistance companies to offer appropriate medevac services, they may be restricted in their options and may have to set up alternative arrangements. External parties have an important role, such as emergency assistance companies and the UK international emergency medical register that was established to deploy personnel to the field from within the NHS, and coordination with such parties is necessary.
The occupational health needs of national staff and volunteers affiliated with organisations who took part in controlling the Ebola outbreak cannot be overlooked. The findings from this study may be able to provide insight into further support needed for national clinical and non-clinical staff and volunteers and further studies are warranted in this area.
The potential exists for further research in an Ebola context into the various types and the benefits of psychological support available for national and international humanitarian aid workers experiencing stress, as well as stigma in-country and for those returning to their respective countries. As acknowledged in this paper, this may include support in terms of communication with family and friends. In addition, it may be worthwhile investigating the longer-term psychological support, post-deployment, that may be helpful for those who have been working in such environments.
Although there is space for further research, next steps should also consider how the findings and lessons learned from this study can be shared with other organisations to inform future occupational health guidelines.
This paper is timely, providing insight into the support perceived to have been beneficial and further occupational health needs of humanitarian aid workers in an Ebola context. It also shows the importance of organisations’ abilities to be flexible and adapt to such circumstances in an appropriate and timely manner from an occupational health perspective. This study, as well as further research and other studies, have the potential to influence forthcoming guidelines in the case of future Ebola outbreaks. In addition, the lessons learned may be of value for occupational health standards in other humanitarian settings.