The study was conducted from the 20^th – 26^th of August 2019 in Swahili and French, with respondents randomly selected from GeoPoll’s database of mobile subscribers in North Kivu. Out of 483 respondents, 313 were from Goma, with the remainder from other areas in North Kivu. The gender split was 58% male to 42% female, and the age breakdown was 45% 15-24, 43% 25-34, and 14% aged 35 and older. GeoPoll used our previous experience conducting surveys around Ebola and other disease outbreak to develop the questionnaire, the results of which can be seen below. Data provides a snapshot view of the on-the-ground situation and demonstrates the importance of further research in the region.

Awareness of Ebola in the DRC

Out of all respondents, 40% stated that they know of people who have contracted Ebola in the past month, with the youngest age group – ages 15-24 – being the least likely to know someone who has contracted Ebola, at 33%. The vast majority of respondents report that they are aware of the symptoms of Ebola, with females being less likely to know the symptoms; 91% of males and 86% of females reported that they know the symptoms.

A slightly smaller percentage were aware of the recent spread of Ebola in their own area, though still a strong majority of 79% reported that they knew of the outbreak. We do find some differences in the results by education level: those who had completed post-secondary school had higher levels of awareness of the outbreak, at 83% reporting awareness of Ebola, compared to 74% of those who had completed secondary school or lower levels of education.

Radio is shown to be the predominant source of information on Ebola, with 53% of respondents listing radio as their primary news/information source on Ebola, followed by social media at 17% and friends or family at 10%. WhatsApp and Facebook were listed as the most popular social media sources of information. 90% of respondents report that they have communicated with friends about Ebola and its risk.

Health Actions and Perceptions of the Ebola Response 

Aid organizations often focus on both treatment of Ebola and the distribution of information about the ways to prevent the spread of Ebola, and our survey asked several questions around the perception of the response to Ebola as well as perceived risk to disease exposure. In terms of aid presence, we found that 62% thought that healthcare or aid organizations had been more present in their area in the past two weeks. High levels reported fears about visiting health facilities for non-Ebola related illnesses, with 74% stating that people are scared to visit facilities for other health concerns. Additionally, public places are seen as the highest risk areas for exposure to Ebola, with 41% stating public transport poses the biggest risk to exposure and 39% stating general public places are the biggest risk. 86% report that they know how to prevent themselves from contracting Ebola, with no significant difference between genders.

We also examined perceptions of the Ebola response, finding relatively high levels of support for the handling of the outbreak by both the government and hospitals. In terms of how the hospitals are handling the current outbreak, 65% report the hospital response is ‘average’ or higher, while 69% reported the same regarding the government. Only 15% and 14% reported that the hospitals and government respectively are doing an ‘excellent’ job at handling the outbreak, indicating there are still areas for improvement. We also found differing levels of confidence in the government’s ability to handle a larger outbreak: If there was a wider outbreak, 37% say they are ‘not confident’ in their government’s ability to handle it, while 35% say they are ‘very confident’. We did not observe differences between age and gender for the level of confidence in the government.

Ebola in Goma

Much of the focus around Ebola in DRC recently has been centered on Goma, a border city with Rwanda, a transport hub for the region, and the capital of North Kivu. Due to concern around Ebola’s spread in this strategic location, we targeted this survey to ensure a high number of responses from Goma and asked several questions to the 313 respondents from the city.

Regarding treatment plans, we find that a high majority in Goma, 90%, would go to a health facility or hospital if they thought they had Ebola, rather than going to a private doctor or using traditional medicine. Further supporting the perceived value of hospitals to treat Ebola, we find that 93% say if someone in their household had symptoms they would go to a health facility quickly rather than treating them at home. Despite this, when asked specifically about Ebola Treatment Units, units specifically designed to treat and prevent the spread of Ebola, we found less knowledge of their uses. Just over half of Goma respondents said they were familiar with what happens at an ETU.

During high-profile disease outbreaks such as Ebola in DRC, there can be a level of concern over notifying officials of symptoms due to perceived stigma, however, we find that 84% in Goma would tell official Ebola response workers if they became infected with the disease. Despite high levels of worry over contracting Ebola, with 46% of respondents from Goma stating they are ‘very worried’ about becoming infected, we find a split response on people avoiding public spaces due to the disease: 48% have avoided areas like markets and stadiums, and 52% say they have not avoided public spaces.

Conducting Surveys in the Democratic Republic of Congo

To learn more about how GeoPoll’s mobile-based surveys and communications can be used to aid the Ebola response effort in DRC please contact us.

The post Ebola in DRC: SMS Survey Results appeared first on GeoPoll.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), since 22nd April 2017, nine cases including three deaths have been reported in the Bas Uele Province north of DRC bordering the Central African Republic.

On May 29th and 30^th 2017, GeoPoll targeted 400 respondents from the different provinces in the DRC with the objective of identifying and measuring; the level of awareness on the virus, its outbreak, spread, prevention and sentiments on the effectiveness. GeoPoll also sought to collect public sentiments on the preparedness of hospitals and the government in handling the outbreak.

Awareness of Ebola Virus and its outbreak in DRC
There is a high level of awareness of the Ebola virus and its outbreak in the country.

When asked, “Are you aware of Ebola?” 79% of respondents said they were aware of the disease while 21% indicated they were not. Out of the 79% respondents who were aware of the Ebola disease, 86% were aware of the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC.

This high level of awareness is a positive sign as one can hypothesize that due to this, the spread and lethality of the disease will be less than compared to the 2015 Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

Radio and TV are the two media channels that have played a huge role in spreading awareness among the DRC population on the virus and its outbreak. The top three information sources for those who are aware of the Ebola outbreak in the DRC are radio (51%), TV (32%), and the word of mouth and social media (12% each).

Among female respondents, the top information source regarding the outbreak is TV at 40%. For males, the top information source is the radio at 65%.

GeoPoll asked respondents who were aware of the Ebola virus the different modes in which the disease can be transmitted. 76% of respondents indicated direct contact with bodily fluids of infected persons, 13% said touching the clothing of an infected person. 5% of respondents indicated that the disease was spread through a different mode.

This ability to tell exactly how the virus is spread points to a clear discernment between facts and myths about the virus spread among the respondents which means that they would know how to avoid its contamination or spread.

Levels of risk & prevention
Whilst over a majority of respondents do not feel at risk, one in four people feel at risk. When asked, “Do you believe you are at risk of being exposed to the Ebola virus?” 63% of respondents replied no and 38% replied yes.

Among respondents who are both aware of the Ebola disease and feel that they are at risk of becoming infected with the disease, the average score to the following question, ” On a scale of 1-5, where 1 being not concerned and 5 being very concerned, how concerned are you about getting the Ebola Virus”, was 3.11.
This demonstrates that amongst this concerned subgroup of respondents, the concern for getting the disease leans more towards the ‘very’ concerned side, then ‘less’ concerned.
GeoPoll asked respondents who were aware of the Ebola disease if they knew how to prevent themselves from contracting the disease. 58% of respondents indicated that they know how to prevent themselves from contracting Ebola, while 42% do not know how.
This data point demonstrates that there is still room for better Ebola prevention campaigns in the DRC.

The role of the Government & Hospitals
Most survey respondents do not believe that hospitals and the government are handling the current outbreak effectively. Most are also not very confident in the government’s ability to handle a wider outbreak.

When asked, “How well do you believe the hospitals are handling the current outbreak situation? 1) Very poorly 2) Poorly 3) Effectively 4) Not so well 5) Very effectively” out of respondents who were aware of Ebola, 42% of respondents believed the hospitals were being effective. 27% of respondents replied not so well, and 31% believe the hospitals are handling the current outbreak poorly.
Among male and female respondents, one sees a major difference in opinions when it comes to how ‘effective’ the hospitals are being. For male respondents, 25% said the hospitals are handling the current outbreak effectively, while for female respondents it is 36%.

For respondents who are aware of the Ebola disease, 42% believe the government is handling the current Ebola outbreak effectively. 58% believe the government is not handling the current outbreak effectively.

GeoPoll asked respondents who were aware of Ebola, “On a scale of 1-5, where 1 being not confident and 5 being very confident, how do you feel about the government’s ability to handle a wider outbreak.” The average score amongst the respondents was 2.9, indicating that among these respondents, they are barely leaning towards the very confident scale as compared to not confident.

Points of intervention
This survey has determined the level of awareness on the virus outbreak and top information sources for both genders.  Now agencies can be more effective in how they target their Ebola prevention interventions. 

Having one in four people feel at risk though not alarming is still fairly high. This increases the need to be able to design, implement, monitor and evaluate all intervention programs to ensure that fewer people feel at risk of becoming infected with Ebola.
There is a need for hospitals and the government to play a bigger role in instilling more confidence by demonstrating their ability to better handle the Ebola outbreak more effectively and more importantly, the government’s ability to handle a wider outbreak.
Finally, radio and TV are mediums that can be tracked via surveys, allowing agencies and other parties to measure the effectiveness of their interventions.

Data Collection & Methodology

GeoPoll is a mobile surveying platform that used SMS to collect data from mobile phone respondents in the DRC. The GeoPoll platform connects directly with mobile network operators (MNOs) in the DRC to collect data over their own networks. Participation is always free and voluntary to the respondent.
Over a period of two days, GeoPoll had 400 respondents answer the survey and provide insights into Ebola awareness, general knowledge of the disease, and how the government is responding to the challenge. All 400 respondents took the survey in French and the sample is representative of respondents with access and the ability to answer a mobile survey in the DRC. There was a 50/50 split among male and female respondents. The margin of error for this survey is 4.9.

(Photo source; YouTube)

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In August of 2014, as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was spreading, the WFP once again partnered with GeoPoll to conduct food security surveys in Ebola-affected countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Ebola is likely to have long-term effects on food security, and mobile surveys allow WFP to quickly collect vital data on food prices, wages, and more.SolutionWFP and GeoPoll will send mobile surveys in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea over three months: September, October, and November 2014, to gather common indicators of food security, plus data on food prices and wages. GeoPoll and the WFP have worked together to adapt the reduced Coping Strategies Index (rCSI) for the mobile phone, and in previous studies have found no significant difference in rCSI results collected through mobile surveys vs. face-to-face surveys.ResultsThe first round of data released is from Sierra Leone, and indicates that food security in the Ebola-epicenters of Kailahun and Kenema has declined since the outbreak began. People living in these areas are using “severe” food coping strategies more frequently than those in the surrounding areas, meaning they are restricting meal size and buying less expensive foods than they normally would. The Sierra Leone surveys, conducted by text message, also found that casual wages in the east of Sierra Leone have dropped, likely contributing to the poor food security situation.

Food prices in the east of Sierra Leone are not showing major differences from prices in other regions of Sierra Leone, however WFP will continue to monitor price trends as surveys continue.Key Points

• WFP And GeoPoll Adapted Key Food Security Surveys For The Mobile Phone.
• Currently Monitoring Food Security, Food Prices, And Wages In Ebola-Affected Areas In Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea.
• Initial Results Found That Ebola-Epicenters In Sierra Leone Are Worse Off In Terms Of Food Security Than Surrounding Areas.

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