UNT faculty members available to discuss topics related to Ebola in America and Africa

Friday, October 17, 2014 - 13:25

Since July, eight people who were diagnosed with the Ebola virus have been treated in U.S. hospitals, and many others who had direct contact with them are being monitored for the deadly disease. In West Africa, the Ebola outbreak that began last March has killed nearly 4,500 people, and the World Health Organization has said that up to 10,000 new cases could be diagnosed each week during the next two months. More than 3,000 U.S. troops are being deployed the Liberia, one of the hardest hit nations, to build hospitals.

The following University of North Texas faculty members are available to discuss topics related to this ongoing story:

Samra Bufkins, lecturer of strategic communications in UNT's Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism, will discuss media coverage of the Ebola cases in the U.S., particularly coverage on social media. She will also provide her public relations perspective on crisis management. Bufkins was previously a public relations manager for two hospitals.

Cell phone number: 214-708-5653
E-mail: samra.bufkins@unt.edu
Twitter: @samjb

Constance Hilliard, professor of applied African history in the UNT Department of History, will discuss the U.S. military response to the Ebola epidemic in Africa, which she calls "the most judicious step we can take at this time."

"It is easy to be the world's sole superpower on paper in terms of the Gross National Product and other indices of national achievement," she said. "But only when the unexpected happens and the world turns to us do we have an opportunity to show what we're really made of."

Office phone number: 940-565-4972
Cell phone number: 940-442-4442
E-mail: connie@unt.edu

Wendy Middlemiss, associate professor of educational psychology in the UNT College of Education, will discuss how parents can provide "a balance between worry and anxiety and assurance" to their children in talking about the Ebola cases. Several schools in Texas and Ohio have closed because staff members and students were on the same flight or the same plane as an Ebola patient who flew one day before she was diagnosed with the illness, and the schools are being disinfected. Children who took the same flight this week as the patient are staying home.

Middlemiss suggests that parents provide clear and accurate information about Ebola and its transmission; ask their children what they are thinking about Ebola and how the news about the virus makes them feel; provide clear and simple answers; and remind children about the importance of frequent hand washing and other standard practices to keep children and adults healthy. She recommends monitoring children's exposure to news reports about Ebola and discussing with them the images associated with the illness, understanding that pictures of responders in protective gear can be quite startling and frightening for children, as well as adults.

Cell phone number: 724-977-3067
E-mail: wendy.middlemiss@unt.edu

Joseph Oppong, a professor in the UNT Department of Geography and current U.S. representative to the International Geographical Union Commission on Health and the Environment, will discuss how geography has impacted the spread of the Ebola virus and how the current outbreak in Africa compares to other pandemics.

Oppong tracks the spread of diseases using information about geography, demographics, health care delivery and social and cultural behavior. A native of Ghana, he often focuses on Africa.     

Office phone number: 940-369-7245
E-mail: Oppong@unt.edu.

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