Understanding the role of community resilience in addressing the Ebola virus disease epidemic in Liberia: a qualitative study (community resilience in Liberia)

Figures & data

Box 1. Themes covered in the interview guide.

1. How do different type of shocks affect communities?

2. How did the communities respond to the EVD epidemic, and how was the response compared to the civil war?

3. What are the community resources and factors that can limit shocks, and how were these made available and used (or unavailable and unused) for addressing EVD?

4. What are enablers and inhibitors of these community resources and factors?

5. What are some potential strategies for strengthening these community resources, characteristics and factors? What are some of the gaps in our understanding of the role of these community factors in addressing shocks like EVD?

Table 1. Participants included in key informant interviews.

Organization/groups	Number of people interviewed
Community Residents	9
Ministry of Health	9
National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL)	3
County Health Team/Frontline Health Workers	4
Professional Groups (Physician Assistants, Nursing and Pharmaceutical Associations)	4
Ebola Survivor Network and other local NGOs	3
Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection	1
International Organizations	2
Academic Institution	1
Total	36

Table 2. Some parallels in how communities responded to both EVD and civil war shocks.

Themes	Ebola	War
Distrust	of health system, of information channels	of government, of political institutions
Fear	of direct transmission	of attack, loss of life
Death	EVD as an ‘unseen enemy’ that resulted in loss of life	war as a ‘known enemy’ that resulted in loss of life
Psychological trauma	due to loss of loved ones, fear of transmission, lack of closure due to burial practice	due to flashbacks of war, brutality, post-traumatic stress disorder
Community cohesion	once people understood the threat of EVD, they began to unite as a community	community member cared for each other in the wake of the war