This SSHAP Practical Approaches brief highlights key considerations when appraising health-seeking behaviours in the context of an epidemic outbreak. It provides guidance on the availability of relevant social science knowledge to adapt epidemic preparedness and response to the local context. Using the guidance will result in a mapping of crucial social science knowledge on health-seeking behaviour and reveal areas for additional primary data collection. Health-seeking behaviours vary widely across cultures, so some questions may be more relevant than others in different contexts. Additionally, the nature of the disease itself will make some questions more relevant than others; for example, the transmission pathways (contact, airborne, vector, etc.) of the pathogens will make particular issues more salient. As such, questions will need to be tailored to a specific context and disease.
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