Accepted monitoring or endured quarantine? Ebola contacts' perceptions in Senegal

The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence

“…Qualitative studies also iden tified a range of other psy chological responses to quar antine, such as confusion, [11][12][13]23 fear, [12][13][14][15]23,24 anger, 12,13 grief, 29 numbness, 23 and anxietyinduced insomnia. 14,15 One study compared undergraduates who had been quarantined with those not quarantined immediately after the quarantine period and found no significant difference between the groups in terms of posttraumatic stress symptoms or general mental health problems. 29 However, the entire study population were undergraduate students (who are generally young, and perhaps have fewer responsibilities than adults who are employed fulltime) and thus it is possible that these conclusions cannot be generalised to the wider population.…”

“…Participants in eight studies reported fears about their own health or fears of infecting others 9,13,14,16,17,21,25,26 and were more likely to fear infecting family members than those not quarantined. 9 They also became particularly worried if they experienced any physical symptoms potentially related to the infection 14 and fear that the symptoms could reflect having the infection continued to be related to psychological outcomes several months later. 17 Conversely, one study 11 found that although very few participants were extremely concerned about becoming infected or transmitting the virus to others, those who were concerned tended to be pregnant women and those with young children.…”

“…Confinement, loss of usual routine, and reduced social and physical contact with others were frequently shown to cause boredom, frustration, and a sense of isolation from the rest of the world, which was distressing to participants. 10,11,[13][14][15][16]25,26,31 This frustration was exacerbated by not being able to take part in usual daytoday activities, such as shopping for basic necessities 16 or taking part in social networking activities via the telephone or internet. 17…”

“…A study 14 of people quarantined because of potential Ebola contact found that, although participants received financial assistance, some felt that the amount was insufficient and that it came too late; many felt wronged as the assistance they received did not cover their ongoing professional expenses. Many became depen dent on their families to provide for them financially during quarantine which was often hard to accept and could cause conflicts.…”

“…Participants in several studies reported that others were treating them differ ently: avoiding them, withdrawing social invitations, treating them with fear and suspicion, and making critical comments. [13][14][15][16]18,21,[23][24][25][26]30,31 Several healthcare workers involved in the Ebola outbreak in Senegal reported that quarantine had led their families to consider their jobs to be too risky, creating intrahousehold tension. 14 In the same study, three partici pants reported being unable to resume their jobs after surveillance ended because their employers expressed fear of contagion.…”