Page 65 - GHES-2-2

Global Health Econ Sustain Attributes of Ebola epidemic in West Africa

The next category of potential determinants and standard deviation (SD), were calculated for each
encompassed environmental factors, which are related variable. Spearman rho correlation analysis was conducted
to the physical conditions and influences within the to assess the strength and direction of the correlation
community. These factors include the availability of water among variables. Finally, a path analysis using EQS 6.1
and soap for hand washing, both at community facilities and software was conducted to determine the goodness of fit
within households (National Bureau of Statistics [Nigeria], of the model and to identify significant predictors for the
Department for International Development, UNICEF outcome variables.
& United Nations Population Fund, 2013; Statistics
Sierra Leone & UNICEF, 2011), barriers encountered by 3. Results
community members when accessing healthcare (Liberia 3.1. Variable characteristics
Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services,
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare [Liberia], National The mean, SD, minimum, maximum, and sample size
AIDS Control Program [Liberia], & ICF International, for each significant outcome variable and their potential
2014; National Population Commission [Nigeria] & ICF determinants are presented in Table 1.
International, 2014; Statistics Sierra Leone, Ministry of The results in Table 1 indicate that, on average, each
Health and Sanitation [Sierra Leone] & ICF International, district reported 63 (SD: 141.4) initial confirmed cases
2014), healthcare budgets allocated by the government reported at the onset of the outbreak. During this period,
for each district within each country (Liberia Institute the maximum number of confirmed cases reported in a
of Statistics and Geo-Information Services, Ministry single day was 545. Regarding deaths reported toward the
of Health and Social Welfare [Liberia], National AIDS end of 2014, the average was 65 (SD: 213.1) confirmed
Control Program [Liberia], & ICF International, 2014; deaths, with a maximum of 1,598 confirmed deaths
National Bureau of Statistics [Nigeria], 2012; Statistics reported in Montserrado, Liberia.
Sierra Leone, 2014), main sources of drinking water for the The significant predictors for the outcome variables
community, and the types of sanitation facilities available are divided into behavioral, environmental, and
within the community (Liberia Institute of Statistics
& Geo-Information Services, 2009; National Bureau socioeconomic factors. Among the behavioral factors,
of Statistics [Nigeria], Department for International female unemployment rates ranged from 0.1% to 20%.
Development, UNICEF, & United Nations Population Recent sexual activity among females was approximately
Fund, 2013; Statistics Sierra Leone and UNICEF, 2011) for 11% (SD: 6.3%) for women who had never engaged in
each country and year. sexual intercourse. Regarding the disposal of a child’s stool,
51% (SD: 24.4%) were disposed of safely, 3% (SD: 4.8%)
The final category of potential determinants included were buried, and 12% (SD: 13.7%) were left in the open.
socioeconomic factors, which encompass external
influences and lifestyle factors that could contribute to Environmental factors include the distribution of each
the spread of the Ebola virus. These factors included the district’s main source of drinking water, with approximately
treatment of fever in children under the age of five, overall 8% (SD: 12.9%) piped from outside their compound, yard,
literacy rates among men and women within each district, or plot and 24% (SD: 20.1%) from lakes, rivers, dams,
and educational attainment for both men and women or streams. The availability of soap for hand washing was
(Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information reported as 0.5% (SD: 1%) being unobserved or not shown.
Services, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare [Liberia], Regarding sanitation facilities, approximately 30% (SD: 53%)
National AIDS Control Program [Liberia], & ICF had pit latrines with a slab. In addition, on average, 11%
International, 2014; National Population Commission (SD: 9.7%) of women reported needing permission before
[Nigeria] & ICF International, 2014; Statistics Sierra treatment, and 18% (SD: 12.1%) did not want to go to the
Leone, Ministry of Health and Sanitation [Sierra Leone] & health facility alone. Notably, in 2013, up to 49% of women
ICF International, 2014) for each country and year. Each in Kono, Sierra Leone, expressed needing permission before
potential determinant used in this study was standardized going for treatment, and 51% of women in Rivercess, Liberia,
for data analysis. cited reluctance to visit health facilities alone. Moreover,
an average of 4% (SD: 4%) of households did not permit
2.3. Statistical analysis hand washing observation, and 10% (SD: 11%) had water
available but lacked soap in their homes. The average annual
Descriptive statistics, Spearman rho correlation, and
stepwise linear regression analyses were performed health expenditure stood at 4% (SD: 6.5%).
using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences. Moving to socioeconomic factors, the distribution of
Descriptive statistics, such as mean, minimum, maximum, male educational attainment revealed that, on average, 26%

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2107