10.17037/DATA.00001830
Qualitative data collected during a study titled ‘Building Resilient Health Systems in post-Ebola Sierra Leone’. It consists of a set of interview transcripts that explore national, district and sub-district health systems responses to Ebola and ethnographic fieldnotes that detail chiefdom and village level responses to Ebola, in Bo and Moyamba districts.
Case-data from District health management teams and Ebola Treatment Centres.
Interview data and ethnographic fieldwork (discussions, interviews, observations) were collected jointly by LSHTM and Njala University team members. Interview transcripts were tape recorded where permission was given, then transcribed and translated in to English. Ethnographic fieldnotes were written based on conversations and observations made by the Njala team in the field.
Case data were collected direct from the responsible Ministry of Health district teams and hospitals and are now held in the Ebola national archive at Njala University.
Nvivo was used to code and manage transcript data. Preparation for the repository was undertaken by team members (primarily Mayhew, the PI, and Richards). This involved anonymising transcripts and fieldnotes manually.
All sites were in Sierra Leone:
Data were collected between 2016-2018 and were finalised for depositing in 2020.
Every interview and ethnographic note was checked by at least two members of the team. All transcriptions and translations were checked by the interviewed who conducted the interview.
Human population
Every interview and ethnographic note was manually anonymised by Richards (Njala lead) and Mayhew (PI, LSHTM).
Ethics approval provided by:
Ebola response; health systems resilience; West Africa, qualitative research, infection chains, humanitarian crisis
English (some translated from Krio and Mende)
| Project title | Funder | Grant number |
| Building Resilient Health Systems in post-Ebola Sierra Leone | Medical Research Council (Health Systems Research Initiative) | MR/N015754/1 |
| Forename | Surname | Faculty / Dept | Institution | Role |
| Susannah | Mayhew | Public Health and Policy > Dept of Global Health and Development | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | Project Leader; Data Creator |
| Paul | Richards | Adjunt Prof | Njala University | Project member; Supervisor; Data Creator |
| Forename | Surname | Faculty / Dept | Institution | Role |
| Susannah | Mayhew | Public Health and Policy > Dept of Global Health and Development | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | Project Leader; Data Creator |
| Dina | Balabanova | Public Health and Policy > Dept of Global Health and Development | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | Project member; Data Creator |
| Melissa | Parker | Public Health and Policy > Dept of Global Health and Development | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | Project member; Data Creator |
| Johanna | Hanefeld | Public Health and Policy > Dept of Global Health and Development | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | Project member; Data Creator |
| Paul | Richards | Adjunt Prof | Njala University | Project member; Supervisor; Data Creator |
| Ahmed | Vandi | Community Health | Njala University | Project member; Researcher; Data Creator |
| Lawrence | Babawo | Community Health | Njala University | Project member; Researcher; Data Creator |
| Tommy | Hanson | Community Health | Njala University | Project member; Researcher; Data Creator |
| Esther | Mokuwa | Njala University | Project member; Researcher; Data Creator | |
| Alfred | Mokuwa | Njala University | Researcher; Data Creator | |
| Baigeh | Johnson | Njala University | Researcher; Data Creator |
The EbolaGbalo_dataset.zip archive contains transcripts and fields notes made by the researchers during the investigation of village experiences and response to Ebola.
| Filename | Description | Extent | Access status | Licence |
| Village_1A | Focus group discussion with 8 people who have various occupations and roles within village 1A. Topics covered include: how and when they learnt of Ebola, how they describe Ebola ot a child, belief in government guidance on limiting Ebola transmission, transmission patterns and community reaction. | 5 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_1B | Notes on visit to Village 1B. Text outlines how Ebola was transmitted and steps taken to attempt to contain its spread. Description is provided in note form, no transcripts were produced. | 1 page | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_1C_part1 | Transcript of focus group discussion with 10 people from Village 1C in attendance. Discussion covered attendee knowledge on Ebola, when they learned about it, and influence upon their lives and community. | 2 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_1C_part2 | Interview notes on discussion with teacher. Discussion covered the interaction with family, quarantine process, caring for the sick and dying. | 4 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_1D | Interview with wife of a deceased male who owned a pharmacy in Village 1D, a female Ebola survivor, and a male Ebola survivor. | 5 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_2A | Focus group discussion with 13 people in attendance, 2 of whom are described as Ebola survivors and 6 who have had relatives die as a result of Ebola. | 3 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_2B | Notes from meeting with staff at a health Post in Village 2B | 3 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_2C | Transcript of interview with Community Health Officer on village experience and response to Ebola in Village 2C and surrounding villages. | 5 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_2D | Transcript of focus group discussion with participants from village 2D. | 11 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_3A | Field Notes on chain of Ebola infection in Villages 3A and 3B | 3 pages | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_3B | Statement by town chief | 1 page | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
| Village_3C | Description of researcher visit to village 3C as part of investigation of the Ebola infection chain | 1 page | Request access | Data Sharing Agreement |
The following anonymised datasets are made openly available.
| Filename | Description | Extent | Access status | Licence |
| Moyamba_Holding_Centre_admission | Case records from Moyamba holding centre | 245 rows | Open access | Creative Commons Attribution (CCBY) |
| Bo_and_Moyamba_tested_cases | Tested case numbers from Bo and Moyamba districts, by chiefdom and date | 315 rows | Open access | Creative Commons Attribution (CCBY) |