Reuniting Families With Their Dead: Repurposing the Sierra Leone Ebola Database as a Bereavement Intervention, 2018-2026.

Ikoona, Eric N; Bangura, Brima; Harding, Jadnah D; Kamara, Mohamed A M; Vandi, Mohamed A; Sahr, Foday · Am J Public Health · 2026

other · Level V

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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. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. Published online ahead of print September 17, 2026:e1-e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308743).