Ebola Outbreak and Africans in the Diaspora: Perceptions and experiences of African Immigrants living in the US

The recent Ebola epidemic and subsequent coverage in the media has generated backlash and hostility against African immigrants living in the US, irrespective of their country of origin in the continent.  Besides the limited research on the socio-cultural aspects and stigma experiences of the disease in Africa, there is yet no research examining African immigrants’ perceptions and experiences in response to the epidemic and the implications for their lives in the US. Drawing from research on Haiti immigrants’ experiences during the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the US, this study will examine African immigrants’ experiences following the Ebola epidemic in the continent. Using a mixed-methods approach, participants will be recruited from the New York metropolitan area to complete a 20-item survey about their demographic profile and their perceptions and experiences using likert-scale. In addition, using five open-ended questions, they will be asked to participate in a 45-minute interview about their experiences before and after the Ebola news outbreak, and the implication they think the Ebola-news have had on the American mainstream perceptions about them, and their perception of their health. All interviews will be audio-recorded. Data collection will start in March 2015 and end in June 2015. Surveys and transcripts data will be analyzed using frequencies and thematic content analysis. The results of this study may increase our understanding of how immigrants, specifically African immigrants cope with potentially stigmatizing perceptions about them, and ways in which public health professionals can intervene to increase knowledge and reduce stigmatizing attitudes.