Stigma and Ebola survivorship in Liberia: Results from a longitudinal cohort study

Survivors of the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic have been reported to suffer high levels of stigmatization after return to their communities. We sought to characterize the stigma encountered by a cohort of Ebola survivors in Liberia over time. Ebola-related stigma was assessed from June 2015 to August 2017 in 299 adolescent and adult Liberian Ebola Survivor Cohort participants at three month intervals using adapted HIV stigma scales scored from 0 to 10 according to the proportion of answers indicating stigmatization. The median time from Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) to study entry was 393 days (IQR 336-492). Participants (43% female) had a median age of 31 (IQR 25-40) years. Mean self-reported stigma levels were greater at baseline (6.28 ± 0.15 [IQR: 4.38-8.75]) compared to the first post-baseline visit (0.60 ± 0.10 [IQR: 0-0]; p