Understanding Ebola In West Africa: Applying Human Ecology Theory

Keywords

Ebola; Environment; Health; Human ecology theory; West Africa

Abstract

This paper applies human ecology theory to the context of the Ebola virus in order to improve our understanding and implementation of public health standards in West Africa. Human ecology theory rests on the premise that humans interact with their environment to create an ecosystem. Put another way, humans and the environment are interdependent. Such interdependence is driven by two sets of rules: (1) physical and biological laws of nature (i.e., survival) and (2) human-derived rules (i.e., social norms, education, nurturing relationships, etc.). An important conclusion of this analysis is that, thanks to adequate understanding of the physical environment, context, and culture of West Africa, doctors and community leaders have helped people better resist the Ebola epidemic. For example, in Nigeria, successful strategies were employed to disseminate the proper information about Ebola (i.e., context messages were framed to fit the context of the receiver, thereby making the chances of survival higher).

Publication Date

6-1-2018

Publication Title

Global Social Welfare

Volume

5

Issue

2

Number of Pages

109-116

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40609-017-0081-9

Socpus ID

85070469903 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85070469903

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