Ebola, informal settlements, and the role of place in infectious disease vulnerability
Evidence from the 2014-16 outbreak in urban Sierra Leone
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3195527 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Saleem H Ali (0000-0003-0961-4327, York University, corresponding author), Harris Ali, Abu Conteh (0000-0003-4891-5237, Senior Researcher at the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre Sierra Leone), Joseph Mustapha Macarthy (Lecturer at Njala University and Executive Director at the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre Sierra Leone), Joseph Macarthy (0000-0002-9106-1516, Njala University), A Sesay (0000-0002-5392-1191, Njala University), Victoria Nancy Blango (Lecturer at Njala University Sierra Leone), Victoria Blango (0000-0002-2215-1075, Njala University), Zuzana Hrdličková (0000-0002-3137-6794, Senior Researcher at the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre Sierra Leone) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 389-411 |
| Publication date | 2023-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Disasters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0361-3666 • E-ISSN: 1467-7717 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/disa.12553 |
| PMID | 35762519 |
| OpenAlex | W4283653349 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 25 |
Studies of vulnerability often focus on the differential susceptibility of marginalised groups to the effects of disaster. This paper considers how vulnerability is also associated with the characteristics of place, especially the social setting of the informal settlement. In this light, it assesses specifically how cultural, historical, and political economic forces resulted in increased vulnerability to Ebola virus disease (EVD) within informal settlements in Sierra Leone during the epidemic of 2014-16. Key informant and community member interviews and focus-group discussions in two communities revealed that increased vulnerability to EVD could, at least in part, be attributed to a set of place-based social factors pertaining to 'community beliefs and practices' (importance of family ties, funeral rites, traditional healing) and 'structural poverty and low socioeconomic status' (poor healthcare provision, mobility patterns, overcrowding). Together, these different factors demonstrate how multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities contribute to the spatial production of disease risk
Computer security · Development economics · Economic growth · Environmental health · Focus group · Geography · Human settlement · Overcrowding · Political science · Population · Poverty · Psychological intervention · Sierra leone · Social vulnerability · Socioeconomic status · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Vulnerability (computing · Anthropology · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Global Security and Public Health · Medicine · Nursing · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research
The Social Roots of Risk
Achieving health equity
Informal settlements and a relational view of health in Nairobi, Kenya
Social Vulnerability to Disasters
The socio-economic distribution of exposure to Ebola
Race and the spatialisation of risk during the 2013–2016 West African Ebola epidemic
Overview of migration, poverty and health dynamics in Nairobi City's slum settlements
Local response in health emergencies
Covid-19 Response and Protracted Exclusion of Informal Settlement Residents in Freetown, Sierra Leone
Transforming Freetown’
Navigating the city
Revealing the Vulnerability of People and Places
Hybrid governance and disaster management in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Monrovia, Liberia, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
History Repeats Itself, but How? City Character, Urban Tradition, and the Accomplishment of Place
The symbolic violence of 'outbreak
Disaster and the Political Economy of Recycling
Epidemics (Especially Ebola)
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |