Responding to Ebola requires putting patients and families into inescapably horrific situations. Being diagnosed with the disease means confronting and accepting the absolute terror of a likely-terminal condition—I am probably going to die. It requires accepting the results of an opaque test done in a faraway lab even when it still just feels like the flu. It then requires accepting that you may never have human contact again for the rest of your life—and that the only communication you will have will be with a masked man tasked with isolating you, not saving you. In the United States, we expect that such a process would be accompanied by humane counseling and social support, by health workers guiding families through letting go and last goodbyes. But in a public health emergency of this scale and danger, patient communication and counseling can be brushed aside under the pretext of urgency. Ebola patients can be considered mere disease-carriers rather than complicated, emotional human beings—and while at the highest levels reducing transmission is the top priority, neglecting the humane aspects of care can gravely undermine the public health response.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 23:40:59 +0000
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