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Updated: Sep 19, 2026
Remote Laboratory Management: Respiratory Virus Diagnostics
Published on: April 6, 2019
Reuniting Families With Their Dead: Repurposing the Sierra Leone Ebola Database as a Bereavement Intervention,
Eric N Ikoona1, Brima Bangura1, Jadnah D Harding1
1Eric N. Ikoona, Brima Bangura, Jadnah D. Harding, Mohamed A. M. Kamara, Mohamed A. Vandi, and Foday Sahr are with the National Public Health Agency, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Abstract:
The Sierra Leone Ebola Database Family Reunification Program (July 2018-January 2026) repurposed epidemic records to help families locate graves lost when safe burials, necessary to halt Ebola transmission in 2014 to 2016, prevented family-led burial and mourning. The program addressed 1306 of 2006 requests and identified probable sites for 65% of them. Caller feedback (n = 432) showed renewed access to mourning, with relief and continuing grief coexisting. The 3.3% uptake among more than 60 000 burials suggests many affected families remained unreached. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 17, 2026:e1-e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308743).
