WebMD and Medscape (a site for health care professionals under the WebMD umbrella) released the results of a poll that surveyed health care personnel (HCP) and the lay public. The poll was on the current Ebola outbreak. There were a number of questions about quarantines, Ebola education, fears about Ebola, travel bans and the like. As you might imagine, there were some significant differences between the HCP and the public. But there were also some areas in which the two groups agreed.
More under the curled shepherd's crook virus.
It seems amazing that most laypeople surveyed didn't claim to be worried about catching Ebola. With all of the fear (and fear mongering) I would have suspected that many people were afraid of catching Ebola. Yet the poll says:
. . .70% of Americans said they were not worried about catching Ebola. Only 8% of people claim they are “very worried” about their own infection risk
The statistics on the poll say that almost 50% of those polled had a college degree or higher level of education. Perhaps there's a correlation between level of education and relative lack of fear of Ebola.
Interestingly, almost half of laypersons surveyed feel that they don't have enough information about the disease. That's hard to understand considering that there are a number of reputable sources that present information simply and clearly. The CDC, among several other sites, has very good information, much of it presented in a very straightforward manner. But, from the poll:
And while a majority of people felt that they had enough information to protect themselves from the virus, 45% said they didn’t feel educated enough about the illness to stay safe.
Perhaps some of this is attributable to the changing guidelines for the use of personal protective equipment.
When doctors and nurses were surveyed, the results were much different with regards to concerns over catching Ebola:
About half, 49%, said they were worried about becoming infected at work. But a majority -- 63% -- also felt that their practice, clinic, or hospital was prepared to treat a patient with Ebola symptoms.
About 1/3 of respondents felt that their hospitals or clinics
weren't prepared to care for possible Ebola patients. I've seen similar responses on other medical sites. Some doctors and nurses have a real concern that some hospitals aren't as well prepared as their PR departments would like to have the public believe .
The lay public seems to have real concerns with HCPs who have treated Ebola patients. They seem to think that they are at fairly high risk for being able to spread the virus to others.
Both HCPs and the public seem to favor quarantines under some circumstances.
You can see the full results of the poll here:
http://www.webmd.com/...