Psychosocial support for Ebola victims is vital

Aug 19, 2012

I was chosen by the Ministry of Health to go and provide psychosocial support to the people in Kagadi Hospital and Kibaale District affected by Ebola.

R. Odokonyero

I was chosen by the Ministry of Health to go and provide psychosocial support to the people in Kagadi Hospital and Kibaale District affected by Ebola. 

What makes the Kibaale Ebola fight different from that of Bundibugyo and Gulu is the rapid response from the Ministry of Health and partners like MSF, IDI, WHO and Red Cross.

I was filled with a mixture of fear and curiosity as we reached the Ebola front line. Our arrival coincided with the ministers’ visit. The Minister of Health’s words of encouragement has resounded since she was last here. The most ear-catching of all her messages was her reiteration of the need for psychosocial support to be provided to patients and their friends and relatives. On my arrival, psychosocial needs were a near crisis.

The crisis was that many clients, who were cleared after two negative test results, were ready for discharge. 

This was not as simple as any ordinary hospital discharge. 

The clients in question had been evacuated from their home areas in frenzy, their items had been burnt to contain and prevent further infections and the whole village was then talking about them. The manner of evacuation caused apprehension and anxiety among these communities, which posed further psychological and social issues during the planning of their discharge.

Preliminary views from the communities indicated that the clients once discharged were in danger of social segregation, stigma and possible violence.

It was, therefore, and still is, the responsibility of the psychosocial team to prepare the clients for discharge, prepare their communities to receive them. The psychosocial team is also responsible for driving back with the clients and hand delivering them to their families and communities. 

A member of the community intimated to me how our visit the day before saved the client’s life because they would have been afraid to have ‘such a person’ in their community.

The psychosocial team also offers counselling to health workers who have suffered fear, stigma and various forms of anxiety. 

Whereas the journey is far from over, I believe incorporating a mental health arm of management was a step in the right direction.

The writer is a psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry, Mulago Hospital

 

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