"Do they want to kill us with Ebola?" Vaccine Trials and Risk Communication in Ghana.

• In Event: Roundtable Workshops
  In Rountable Workshop: Zbola and the (in)Sensibility of Death

Abstract

Channels of communication to the public are critical for risk communication in disease epidemics. The same can be said for vaccine trials where appropriate and trusted channels of communication are used to duly inform the public of the risks and benefits of vaccine trials. Employing the semiotic-method (Actor Network Theory), and focusing on Ghana, a country without a single case of Ebola, yet attempted to undertake vaccine trials, this paper utilizes a comparative approach in analyzing the actors/actants involved in the channels of communication during the recent outbreak and the botched vaccine trials. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with 90 respondents. Preliminary findings indicate that first, compared to the actors involved in the channels of communication during the peak of the ebola outbreak, very little was done to incorporate these actors during the vaccine trials. Second, the media, mobile phones and social media greatly influenced the behavior of community members in the face of being misinformed about the vaccine trials. Third, the experts and the community members had different perceptions of risk associated with the vaccine trials. The paper argues for the need to involve multiple actors in the appropriate and trusted channels of risk communication during vaccine trials.

Authors

• John Kojo Aggrey, Louisiana State University

• Wesley Shrum, Louisiana State University