International employees’ concerns during serious disease outbreaks and the potential impact on business continuity: Lessons identified from the 2014–15 West African Ebola outbreak

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of research carried out into the information-seeking behaviour, and information requirements of a small sample of international workers stationed in West Africa during the Zaire Ebola virus outbreak of 2014–15. The research study under which these results were obtained was part of exploratory research for a PhD focused on the use, and potential uses, of social media platforms during serious disease outbreaks that might be used to inform policy planning for public health and emergency response interventions. Thus, the findings from this study may provide valuable insights to business continuity managers and emergency planners in making future decisions about information exchange and crisis decision-making during future serious disease outbreaks.