The Influence of Human Resource Factors on Access to Mental Health Services in Primary Care Facilities in Kiambu and Makueni Counties, Kenya

Abstract

The incidence of mental health issues in Kenya has increased over the years. Although Kenya has adopted a policy framework to integrate mental health services in primary healthcare facilities, only 29 of the 284 hospitals in level four and above offer mental healthcare services, with Mathari National Referral Hospital serving as Kenya's sole referral for such services. This scenario clearly demonstrates that access to mental health is not fully mainstreamed in primary healthcare facilities. Worse still, the existing service statistics show that Kenyan psychiatry is under-resourced in terms of personnel. This study, therefore, explores the influence of human resource factors on access to mental health services in primary care facilities in Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional mixed methods research design. The target group was healthcare providers from Kiambu and Makueni primary healthcare facilities. The Yamane formula was used to calculate the sample size of 179 healthcare facilities as a unit of analysis. Two health practitioners were selected in each health facility, yielding 358 respondents. Respondents were clinical officers and nurses who directly interacted with patients in primary health facilities. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from staff members in the selected counties. Collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results indicated that human resource factors significantly predict access to mental health services in primary care health facilities in Makueni and Kiambu Counties.