The Ebola epidemic in Liberia and managing the dead—A future role for Humanitarian Forensic Action?

Cordner, Stephen; Bouwer, Heinrich; Tidball‐Binz, Morris

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.04.010

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…While frontline staff work to save lives, little is known about the experiences of those who care for the dead; they seem almost to be an ‘invisible group.’ Anecdotally and from media reports, it is apparent that there are significant challenges experienced ‘on the ground.’ Mortuary workers and funeral directors face stigmatisation and moral distress while being overwhelmed with dead bodies to manage. 82 95 They have a duty of care to mourning families. The level of support given to those workers and the issues they have faced during the COVID-19 epidemic is unknown.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical and sociocultural challenges in managing dead bodies during epidemics and natural disasters

et al. 2021

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BackgroundCatastrophic natural disasters and epidemics claim thousands of lives and have severe and lasting consequences, accompanied by human suffering. The Ebola epidemic of 2014–2016 and the current COVID-19 pandemic have revealed some of the practical and ethical complexities relating to the management of dead bodies. While frontline staff are tasked with saving lives, managing the bodies of those who die remains an under-resourced and overlooked issue, with numerous ethical and practical problems globally.MethodsThis scoping review of literature examines the management of dead bodies during epidemics and natural disasters. 82 articles were reviewed, of which only a small number were empirical studies focusing on ethical or sociocultural issues that emerge in the management of dead bodies.ResultsWe have identified a wide range of ethical and sociocultural challenges, such as ensuring dignity for the deceased while protecting the living, honouring the cultural and religious rituals surrounding death, alleviating the suffering that accompanies grieving for the survivors and mitigating inequalities of resource allocation. It was revealed that several ethical and sociocultural issues arise at all stages of body management: notification, retrieving, identification, storage and burial of dead bodies.ConclusionWhile practical issues with managing dead bodies have been discussed in the global health literature and the ethical and sociocultural facets of handling the dead have been recognised, they are nonetheless not given adequate attention. Further research is needed to ensure care for the dead in epidemics and that natural disasters are informed by ethical best practice.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical and sociocultural challenges in managing dead bodies during epidemics and natural disasters

et al. 2021

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“…This gives direction and develops a supportive practice and system for those seeking to establish a clear career pathway. On the contrary, Cordner, Bouwer and Tidball-Binz 35 noted that in some cases people do not need apprenticeship to perform certain tasks. These researchers indicated that volunteers without formal training could take care and properly dispose of corpses that were highly infectious during the Ebola epidemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ethical approval for the study was given by the Ethics Review Committee of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana, with protocol identification number: UHAS-REC A.1 [35] 19-20. Also, approval was obtained from the management of the hospitals with the mortuary facilities where the study was carried out.…”

Section: Ethical Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work Conditions of the Mortuary Attendant in Ghana: A Qualitative Study

Dartey

Akortiakumah

Titiati

et al. 2021

INQUIRY

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Mortuary workers play a crucial role in healthcare delivery by providing after-life care for dead bodies. Mortuary attendants ensure that corpses are well preserved before handing them over to bereaved families for burial. However, the work of mortuary attendants is a neglected area in most low- and middle-income countries, Ghana inclusive.This study explored the nature, duties and job requirements of mortuary attendants in three regions of Ghana. A descriptive exploratory study that utilised a qualitative approach was conducted. Nineteen mortuary attendants who worked in nine mortuary facilities in three regions were purposively selected and interviewed for the study. Semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded using an interview guide. Verbatim transcription of conversations was done, data were manually coded and analysed thematically. Scientific trustworthiness was ensured through applications of the philosophies of credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. Three themes were identified: nature of the work of mortuary attendants; qualification and training requirements; and working conditions of mortuary attendants. The emerged sub-themes revealed the critical role played by attendants in preserving the bodies for the families; the majority of attendants got their skills through apprenticeship and challenging work conditions. The lack of structured formal education among mortuary attendants exposes them to occupational hazards and leads to poor service delivery. It is recommended that a formal programme for training, certification and recruitment of mortuary attendants be instituted to equip them with the needed knowledge and skill to enable them to meet the demands of their work.

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“…For example, traditional burial practices and the consumption of bush meat were identified as key etiological factors to the Ebola epidemic . Some analysts even suggest that these cultural practices, in addition to local distrust of authorities may have obstructed interventions (Phua 2015;World Health Organization 2017c;Cordner et al 2017). Therefore, population behaviors, such as education and safe burials and cremations, were proposed as targets for intervention (Hagan et al 2015;Alexander et al 2015).…”

Section: Attribution Of Infectious Disease Responsibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Politics of Disease Epidemics: a Comparative Analysis of the SARS, Zika, and Ebola Outbreaks

Kapiriri

Ross

2018

Glob Soc Welf

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Over the past few decades, disease outbreaks have become increasingly frequent and widespread. The epicenters of these outbreaks have differed, and could be linked to different economic contexts. Arguably, the responses to these outbreaks have been Bpolitical^and inherently burdensome to marginalized populations. Key lessons can be learned from exploring the narratives about the different epidemics in varying income settings. Based on a review of the published medical, social, and political literature, which was accessed using four electronic databases-PubMed, Sociological Abstracts, Scholars Portal, and Web of Science, the overall objective of this paper discuss scholars' narratives on the Bpolitics^of Ebola in a low-income setting, Zika virus in a middle-income setting, and SARS in a high-income setting. Various themes of the politics of epidemics were prominent in the literature. The narratives demonstrated the influence of power in whose narratives and what narratives are presented in the literature. While marginalized populations were reported to have borne the brunt of all disease outbreaks in the different contexts, the prevalence of their narratives within the reviewed literature was limited. Regardless of income setting, there is a need to give voice to the most marginalized communities during an epidemic. The experiences and narratives of those most vulnerable to an epidemic-specifically poor communities-need to be represented in the literature. This could contribute to mitigating some of the negative impact of the politics in epidemics.

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The Ebola epidemic in Liberia and managing the dead—A future role for Humanitarian Forensic Action?

Cited by 7 publications

References 5 publications

Ethical and sociocultural challenges in managing dead bodies during epidemics and natural disasters

Ethical and sociocultural challenges in managing dead bodies during epidemics and natural disasters

Work Conditions of the Mortuary Attendant in Ghana: A Qualitative Study

The Politics of Disease Epidemics: a Comparative Analysis of the SARS, Zika, and Ebola Outbreaks

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