Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

New Model for Combatting the Ebola Epidemic

By R&D Editors | January 26, 2015

An Ebola community care center in Sierra Leone. Source: Columbia University

An ICAP team conducted a three-week rapid assessment of Ebola community care centers (CCCs), a new model of care that aims to break the cycle of household transmission of the Ebola virus.

With funding from the UK Department for International Development, ICAP team members visited 11 sites across six districts—Bo, Bombali, Kambia, Koinadugu, Port Loko, and Western Area—to assess the safety, effectiveness, acceptability, and operational feasibility of these centers, where patients with symptoms suggestive of Ebola receive care and support as they await diagnosis and transfer to Ebola treatment units or referral for other medical services.

In Sierra Leone, where the number of Ebola cases recently surpassed 10,000 and where there are fewer than 900 Ebola treatment beds, community care centers have emerged as a promising intervention where few alternatives exist. ICAP’s assessment is a critical step for the previously untested model of care and an opportunity to garner lessons learned that can lead to the safe and effective delivery of quality services and facilitate the rapid detection and isolation of newly detected Ebola cases.

“While the impact of Ebola has been tragic in every way, novel approaches to confronting this emergency can also inform future responses to other health threats in the country,” said Susan Michaels-Strasser, PhD, MPH, RN, FAANN, associate director for nursing and project director for the Global Nurse Capacity Building Program at ICAP.

ICAP brought its expertise in monitoring, evaluation, and research to the development of the protocol and data collection methods. Using a 168-item site-assessment survey, the researchers gathered information on patient flow, laboratory services, on-site standard operating protocols, and other key operational areas of the CCCs. ICAP’s team also conducted nearly 60 in-depth interviews with national- and district-level stakeholders, site staff, and community members to assess knowledge and attitudes about CCCs.

“The CCC is better because it’s in the community,” said an Ebola survivor and survey participant. “Many people died from Ebola before the CCC was established because there is no hospital in the community. Now people are using this place as a hospital.”

In Sierra Leone, the limited number of health care workers (just over 130 doctors and 1,000 nurses for a population of 6 million), combined with the tragic loss of close to 200 health care workers to Ebola disease and the prioritization of higher cadre of workers to staff Ebola treatment units, leaves minimal human resources available to staff the CCCs. Despite these challenges, nurses and other health care workers can be found at these centers working diligently to control the outbreak.

“Nurses are vital,” said Hossinatu Mary Kanu, chief nursing officer in Sierra Leone. “They play a central role in all aspects of the Ebola response.”

Kanu articulated the many challenges nurses face as they work with patients, often having borne the brunt of this disease among family members or colleagues.

“It will take a long time for us to stand again and become a resilient health system,” she said. “We are hopeful that with support we can build our systems.”

Source: Columbia University

Related Articles Read More >

Eli Lilly facility
9 R&D developments this week: Lilly builds major R&D center, Stratolaunch tests hypersonic craft, IBM chief urges AI R&D funding
professional photo of wooly mammoth in nature --ar 2:1 --personalize sq85hce --v 6.1 Job ID: 47185eaa-b213-4624-8bee-44f9e882feaa
Why science ethicists are sounding skepticism and alarm on ‘de-extinction’
ALAFIA system speeds complex molecular simulations for University of Miami drug research
3d rendered illustration of the anatomy of a cancer cell
Funding flows to obesity, oncology and immunology: 2024 sales data show where science is paying off
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE