‘Tiny Iceland’ preparing for Ebola in a globalized world
Background: The Ebola epidemic in West Africa caused global fear and stirred up worldwide preparedness activities in countries sharing borders with those affected, and in geographically far-away countries such as Iceland. Objective: To describe and analyse Ebola preparedness activities within the Ic...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:10932ad2acd2470ebe802b2ffd8e9b40 2023-05-15T16:46:56+02:00 ‘Tiny Iceland’ preparing for Ebola in a globalized world Geir Gunnlaugsson Íris Eva Hauksdóttir Ib Christian Bygbjerg Britt Pinkowski Tersbøl 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1597451 https://doaj.org/article/10932ad2acd2470ebe802b2ffd8e9b40 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1597451 https://doaj.org/toc/1654-9880 1654-9880 doi:10.1080/16549716.2019.1597451 https://doaj.org/article/10932ad2acd2470ebe802b2ffd8e9b40 Global Health Action, Vol 12, Iss 1 (2019) global health prevention and control public policy qualitative evaluation emergency responders communicable diseases emerging fear Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1597451 2022-12-31T10:01:36Z Background: The Ebola epidemic in West Africa caused global fear and stirred up worldwide preparedness activities in countries sharing borders with those affected, and in geographically far-away countries such as Iceland. Objective: To describe and analyse Ebola preparedness activities within the Icelandic healthcare system, and to explore the perspectives and experiences of managers and frontline health workers. Methods: A qualitative case study, based on semi-structured interviews with 21 staff members in the national Ebola Treatment Team, Emergency Room at Landspitali University Hospital, and managers of the response team. Results: Contextual factors such as culture and demography influenced preparedness, and contributed to the positive state of mind of participants, and ingenuity in using available resources for preparedness. While participants believed they were ready to take on the task of Ebola, they also had doubts about the chances of Ebola ever reaching Iceland. Yet, factors such as fear of Ebola and the perceived stigma associated with caring for a potentially infected Ebola patient, influenced the preparation process and resulted in plans for specific precautions by staff to secure the safety of their families. There were also concerns about the teamwork and lack of commitment by some during training. Being a ‘tiny’ nation was seen as both an asset and a weakness in the preparation process. Honest information sharing and scenario-based training contributed to increased confidence amongst participants in the response plans. Conclusions: Communication and training were important for preparedness of health staff in Iceland, in order to receive, admit, and treat a patient suspected of having Ebola, while doubts prevailed on staff capacity to properly do so. For optimal preparedness, likely scenarios for future global security health threats need to be repeatedly enacted, and areas plagued by poverty and fragile healthcare systems require global support. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Global Health Action 12 1 1597451 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
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global health prevention and control public policy qualitative evaluation emergency responders communicable diseases emerging fear Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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global health prevention and control public policy qualitative evaluation emergency responders communicable diseases emerging fear Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Geir Gunnlaugsson Íris Eva Hauksdóttir Ib Christian Bygbjerg Britt Pinkowski Tersbøl ‘Tiny Iceland’ preparing for Ebola in a globalized world |
topic_facet |
global health prevention and control public policy qualitative evaluation emergency responders communicable diseases emerging fear Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background: The Ebola epidemic in West Africa caused global fear and stirred up worldwide preparedness activities in countries sharing borders with those affected, and in geographically far-away countries such as Iceland. Objective: To describe and analyse Ebola preparedness activities within the Icelandic healthcare system, and to explore the perspectives and experiences of managers and frontline health workers. Methods: A qualitative case study, based on semi-structured interviews with 21 staff members in the national Ebola Treatment Team, Emergency Room at Landspitali University Hospital, and managers of the response team. Results: Contextual factors such as culture and demography influenced preparedness, and contributed to the positive state of mind of participants, and ingenuity in using available resources for preparedness. While participants believed they were ready to take on the task of Ebola, they also had doubts about the chances of Ebola ever reaching Iceland. Yet, factors such as fear of Ebola and the perceived stigma associated with caring for a potentially infected Ebola patient, influenced the preparation process and resulted in plans for specific precautions by staff to secure the safety of their families. There were also concerns about the teamwork and lack of commitment by some during training. Being a ‘tiny’ nation was seen as both an asset and a weakness in the preparation process. Honest information sharing and scenario-based training contributed to increased confidence amongst participants in the response plans. Conclusions: Communication and training were important for preparedness of health staff in Iceland, in order to receive, admit, and treat a patient suspected of having Ebola, while doubts prevailed on staff capacity to properly do so. For optimal preparedness, likely scenarios for future global security health threats need to be repeatedly enacted, and areas plagued by poverty and fragile healthcare systems require global support. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Geir Gunnlaugsson Íris Eva Hauksdóttir Ib Christian Bygbjerg Britt Pinkowski Tersbøl |
author_facet |
Geir Gunnlaugsson Íris Eva Hauksdóttir Ib Christian Bygbjerg Britt Pinkowski Tersbøl |
author_sort |
Geir Gunnlaugsson |
title |
‘Tiny Iceland’ preparing for Ebola in a globalized world |
title_short |
‘Tiny Iceland’ preparing for Ebola in a globalized world |
title_full |
‘Tiny Iceland’ preparing for Ebola in a globalized world |
title_fullStr |
‘Tiny Iceland’ preparing for Ebola in a globalized world |
title_full_unstemmed |
‘Tiny Iceland’ preparing for Ebola in a globalized world |
title_sort |
‘tiny iceland’ preparing for ebola in a globalized world |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1597451 https://doaj.org/article/10932ad2acd2470ebe802b2ffd8e9b40 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Global Health Action, Vol 12, Iss 1 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1597451 https://doaj.org/toc/1654-9880 1654-9880 doi:10.1080/16549716.2019.1597451 https://doaj.org/article/10932ad2acd2470ebe802b2ffd8e9b40 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2019.1597451 |
container_title |
Global Health Action |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
1597451 |
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1766037033771335680 |