Social Science Considerations for Building Trust in Epidemic Response

Abstract

This briefing provides practical recommendations for improving community trust prior to, during and after Ebola outbreaks. Community engagement and cooperation is crucial to facilitate effective response efforts and to minimise conflict, misinformation and the additional transmission of the disease in communities.

Below you will find recommendations based on our findings. These findings can be used by field staff to understand community perspectives, address hesitancies towards responders, and increase engagement with response efforts. Future responses require targeted and community specific engagement to identify, understand and address barriers to activities such as vaccine deployment.