REVISITING THE EBOLA EPIDEMIC IN WEST AFRICA: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL DETERMINANTS IN PUBLIC RESPONSES.

Background: The 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic was largely restricted to the three nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, yet it tested the world's ability to address a potential global pandemic. This study provides an in-depth examination of the role of emotions in the response to the outbreak and engagement with public health measures, and the contextual factors which influenced them.

Methods: Historical research methods were utilised in the examination of primary and secondary sources.

Child witchcraft confessions as an idiom of distress in Sierra Leone; results of a rapid qualitative inquiry and recommendations for mental health interventions.

Background: Reports about child witchcraft are not uncommon in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study we approach child witchcraft as an idiom of distress. In an environment that may prohibit children from openly expressing distress, the shared imagery of witchcraft can provide a cultural idiom to communicate about psychosocial suffering.

Stakeholder perspectives of Community Mental Health Forums: a qualitative study in Sierra Leone.

Background: Mental health is the leading cause of disability worldwide. In the wake of both a civil war and an Ebola outbreak, Sierra Leone ranks as one of the lowest ranked countries on the Human Development Index (UNDP. Human Development Report 2015, Work for Human Development.