A Survey of UK Healthcare Workers’ Attitudes on Volunteering to Help with the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

Objective
To understand the barriers and enablers for UK healthcare workers who are considering going to work in the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, but have not yet volunteered.
Design
After focus group discussions, and a pilot questionnaire, an anonymous survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey to determine whether people had considered going to West Africa, what factors might make them more or less likely to volunteer, and whether any of these were modifiable factors.
Participants
The survey was publicised among doctors, nurses, laboratory staff and allied health professionals. 3109 people answered the survey, of whom 472 (15%) were considering going to work in the epidemic but had not yet volunteered. 1791 (57.6%) had not considered going, 704 (22.6%) had considered going but decided not to, 53 (1.7%) had volunteered to go and 14 (0.45%) had already been and worked in the epidemic.
Results
For those considering going to West Africa, the most important factor preventing them from volunteering was a lack of information to help them decide; fear of getting Ebola and partners’ concerns came next. Uncertainty about their potential role, current work commitments and inability to get agreement from their employer were also important barriers, whereas clarity over training would be an important enabler. In contrast, for those who were not considering going, or who had decided against going, family considerations and partner concerns were the most important factors.
Conclusions
More UK healthcare workers would volunteer to help tackle Ebola in West Africa if there was better information available, including clarity about roles, cover arrangements, and training. This could be achieved with a well-publicised high quality portal of reliable information.

研究目标
明确英国医护人员中，正考虑前往西非参与当前埃博拉疫情防控工作但尚未志愿报名者所面临的参与阻碍与助力因素。

研究设计
在开展焦点小组访谈与试点问卷调研后，本研究依托SurveyMonkey平台开展匿名问卷调查，旨在探明三类信息：受访者是否曾考虑赴西非参与抗疫、哪些因素会提升或降低其志愿报名意愿，以及其中是否存在可调控的影响因素。

研究对象
本次调查面向医生、护士、实验室技术人员及辅助医疗专业人员公开推广。共计3109名受访者完成问卷，其中472人（15%）正考虑前往疫区工作但尚未志愿报名；1791人（57.6%）未考虑过前往疫区；704人（22.6%）曾考虑前往但最终放弃报名；53人（1.7%）已志愿报名参与抗疫；14人（0.45%）已赴西非疫区参与过埃博拉防控工作。

研究结果
对于正考虑前往西非的受访者而言，阻碍其志愿报名的最关键因素为缺乏辅助决策的相关信息；其次为感染埃博拉病毒的恐惧心理与伴侣的顾虑。此外，对自身潜在工作职责的不确定性、当前工作任务缠身、无法获得雇主批准也均为重要阻碍因素；而清晰的培训安排则是重要的助力因素。与之形成对比的是，对于未考虑前往或已放弃报名的受访者而言，家庭因素与伴侣顾虑是影响其决策的最主要因素。

研究结论
若能提供更完善的相关信息——包括明确工作职责、人员接替安排与培训方案——将有更多英国医护人员志愿前往西非参与埃博拉疫情防控工作。该目标可通过搭建传播广泛、高质量的可靠信息门户网站得以实现。