Critical Communications: A Retrospective Look at the Use of Social Media among American Sierra Leoneans during the Ebola Outbreak
Keywords:
Communication, Ebola, Sierra Leone, Social Media, United StatesAbstract
This study explores perceptions of the role of social media in facilitating communication and information sharing between Sierra Leoneans in Sierra Leone and the United States during the Ebola outbreak. Using the model of identity-congruent communication as the conceptual framework, a series of focus groups revealed four major themes: social media source of information, topics of communicated information, implementation of communication strategies, and consequences of inaccurate or incomplete information. The use of WhatsApp was reported as the main source of communication with family and friends in Sierra Leone during the outbreak. Participants felt they received up-to-date information on deaths, outbreak updates, and conspiracy theory updates from the Ebola outbreak. Discussions on inaccurate and misleading information on Ebola prevention was common and fueled fear and created distrust in interpersonal relationships.
References
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Warren, J. R., Hecht, M. L., Jung, E., Kvasny, L., & Henderson, M. (2010). African American ethnic and class-based identities on the world wide web: moderating the effects of information self-perceived seeking/finding and internet self-efficacy. Communication Research, 37(5), 674-702.
Warren, J. R., & Sukumar, A. (2013). Identity-congruent communication in web interface design: the case of medically underserved smokers. Howard Journal of Communications, 24(4), 348-369.
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Allgaier, J., & Svalastog, A. L. (2015). The communication aspects of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Western Africa – do we need to counter one, two, or many epidemics? Croatian Medical Journal, 56(5), 496–499.
Ansumana, R., Bonwitt, J., Stenger, D. A., & Jacobsen, K. H. (2014). Ebola in Sierra Leone: A call for action. Lancet, 384, 303.
Basch, C. H., Basch, C. E., Ruggles, K. V., & Hammond, R. (2015). Coverage of the Ebola virus disease epidemic on YouTube. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. Disaster Medical and Public Health Preparedness, 19, 1-5.
boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2008). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230.
Bozalek, V., Ng’ambi, D., Wood, D., Herrington, J., & Hardman, J. (2015). Activity theory, authentic learning and emerging technologies: Towards a transformative higher education pedagogy. London and New York: Routledge.
Campbell, C., & Jovchelovitch, S. (2000). Health, community and development: Towards a social psychology of participation. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 10(4), 255-270.
Census-Bureau. (2015). U.S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html
Dixon, M. G., & Schafer, I. J. (2014). Ebola viral disease outbreak West Africa 2014. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 63, 548–551.
Dyar, O. J., Castro-Sanchez, E., & Holmes, A. H. (2014). What makes people talk about antibiotics on social media? A retrospective analysis of Twitter use. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 69, 2568-2572.
Elston, J. W., Moosa, A. J., Moses, F., Walker, G., Dotta, N., Waldman, R. J., & Wright, J. (2015). Impact of the Ebola outbreak on health systems and population health in Sierra Leone. Journal of Public Health (Oxford Academic). doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdv158
Feuer, A. (2014, October 18). The Ebola conspiracy theories. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/sunday-review/the-ebola-conspiracy-theories.html?_r=1
Garett, R., Smith, J., & Young, S. D. (2016). A review of social media technologies across the global HIV care continuum. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9, 56-66.
Griffith, F., Lindenmeyer, A., Powell, J., Lowe, P., & Thorogood, M. (2006). Why are health care interventions delivered over the inter- net? A systematic review of the published literature. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 8(2), e10.
Hecht, M. L., Jackson II, R. L., & Ribeau, S. A. (2003). African American Communication: Exploring Identity and Culture (Vol. 2). Mahwah, NJ.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Hecht, M. L., Warren, J., Jung, E., & Krieger, J. (2005). A communication theory of identity: Development, theoretical perspective, and future directions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hewlett, B. S., & Amola, A. R. (2003). Cultural contexts of Ebola in northern Uganda. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 9(10), 1242-1248. doi:10.3201/eid0910.020493.
Househ, M., Borycki, E., & Kushniruk, A. (2014). Empowering patients through social media: the benefits and challenges. Health Informatics Journal, 20, 50-58.
Huang, C. M., Chan, E., & Hyder, A. A. (2010). Web 2.0 and Internet social networking: a new tool for disaster management? - Lessons from Taiwan. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 10, 1-5.
Kolesnikov, I. (2014, August 15). Sierra Leone Data Portal: Population in US States. Retrieved from http://sierraleone.opendataforafrica.org/jfbocuf/population-in-us-states
Kumpfer, K. L., Alvarado, R., Smith, P., & Bellamy, N. (2002). Cultural sensitivity and adaptation in family-based prevention interventions. Prevention science, 3(3), 241-246.
Lachlan, K. A., Spence, P. R., & Lin, X. (2014). Expressions of risk awareness and concern through Twitter: on the utility of using the medium as an indication of audience needs. Computer Human Behavior Journal, 35, 554–559.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.
Merchant, R. M., Elmer, S., & Lurie, N. (2011). Integrating Social Media into Emergency-Preparedness Efforts. The New England Journal of Medicine, 365, 289-291.
Mishori, R., Singh, L. O., Levy, B., & Newport, C. (2014). Mapping physician Twitter networks: describing how they work as a first step in understanding connectivity, information flow, and message diffusion. Journal of Medical and Internet Research, 16, e107.
Nagpal, S. J., Karimianpour, A., Mukhija, D., & Mohan, D. (2015). Dissemination of 'misleading' information on social media during the 2014 Ebola epidemic: An area of concern. Travel Med and Infectious Disease, 13(4), 338-339. doi:10.1016/j.tmaid.2015.05.002.
Nvivo. (2016). NVivo qualitative data analysis Software: QSR International Pty Ltd. Retrieved from http://www.qsrinternational.com
Nyhan, B. (2014, August 25). Fighting Ebola, and the conspiracy theories. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/upshot/fighting-ebola-and-the-conspiracy-theories.html
Odlum, M., & Yoon, S. (2015). What can we learn about the Ebola outbreak from tweets? American Journal of Infectious Control, 43(6), 563-571.
Oyeyemi, S. O., Gabarron, E., & Wynn, R. (2014). Ebola, Twitter, and misinformation: a dangerous combination. British Medical Journal, 349(g6178).
Pandey, A., Atkins, K. E., Medlock, J., Wenzel, N., Townsend, J. P., Childs, J. E., . . . Galvani, A. P. (2014). Strategies for containing Ebola in West Africa. Science Journal, 346(6212), 991-995.
Pathak, R., Giri, S., & Shrestha, N. (2015). Ebola Paranoia in the Age of the Internet and Social Media. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 7(6), 297. doi: 10.4103/1947-2714.159343
Pew. (2015, March 15, 2015). Online activities in emerging and developing nations. Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/03/19/2-online-activities-in-emerging-and-developing-nations/
Pidgeon, N., Kasperson, R. E., & Slovic, P. (2003). The social amplification of risk. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ritterband, L. M., Thorndike, F. P., Cox, D. J., Kovatchev, B. P., & Gonder-Frederick, L. A. (2009). A behavior change model for Internet interventions. Ann Behav Med, 38, 18-27.
Shneiderman, B., & Preece, J. (2007). Public health - 911.gov. Science, 315(5814), 944-944.
Statistica. (2016). Statistics and facts about WhatsApp. Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/topics/2018/whatsapp/
Uchino, B. N. (2006). Social support and health: a review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(4), 377-387.
Warren, J. R., Hecht, M. L., Jung, E., Kvasny, L., & Henderson, M. (2010). African American ethnic and class-based identities on the world wide web: moderating the effects of information self-perceived seeking/finding and internet self-efficacy. Communication Research, 37(5), 674-702.
Warren, J. R., & Sukumar, A. (2013). Identity-congruent communication in web interface design: the case of medically underserved smokers. Howard Journal of Communications, 24(4), 348-369.
WHO. (2016, February 17). Ebola Situation Report. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/ebola/current-situation/ebola-situation-report-17-february-2016
Willemse, J. J. (2015). Undergraduate nurses reflections on What’s App use in improving primary health care education. Curationis, 38(2), 1-7.
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