Mental health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya: a review

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted considerable impact on public mental health globally. With the pandemic rapidly rising in sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya, there is need to provide evidence to guide the mental health response in the region. Objectives: The objective of this review is (1) to describe the mental health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, guided by the Mental Health Preparedness and Action Framework (2) to offer context specific recommendations for improvement of the mental health response in Kenya. Such information could be useful in decision-making in Kenya as well as in the greater sub-Saharan Africa region. Methods: This narrative review is based on information obtained from official government documents released from 13th March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic in Kenya, up to 31st July 2020. Discussion: The COVID-19 response in Kenya has no formal mental health response plan. There is an unmet need for psychological first aid in the community. While guidelines for the management of mental health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic have been prepared, implementation remains a major challenge due to a poorly resourced mental health system. There is no mental health surveillance system in place limiting ability to design evidence-based interventions. Conclusion: We propose four key strategies for strengthening the mental health response in order to mitigate the harmful impact of COVID-19 on public mental health in Kenya: (1) preparation of a formal mental health response plan specific to the COVID-19 pandemic with allocation of funding for the response (2) training of community health workers and community health volunteers on psychological first aid to enable access to support for those in need during the pandemic (3) scaling up of mobile health to increase access to care (4) conducting systematic and continuous text message surveys on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to inform decision-making.

Mental health in the post-COVID-19 era: challenges and the way forward

“…3 This framework has been used to evaluate pandemic preparedness in some countries like Kenya and the USA. 17 However, postpandemic mental health preparedness could be more challenging in countries that are inadequately prepared for pandemics. In addition to preparing for the components of MHPAF, we suggest a few additional interventions for effective and efficient management of postpandemic psychiatric services.…”

Knowledge and Practice Related to COVID-19 and Mental Health among Adults in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Other negative mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, suicide, and harmful alcohol and substance use, are predicted to increase with the expansion of the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic. [20][21][22] Disease experience, stigma, and discrimination are related to short-term outcomes, whereas socioeconomic impacts such as losses of job/income and disruptions to daily routines are correlated with long-term mental health conditions. 13,22,23 With the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases, there is a strong concern that the mental health impacts of COVID-19 will be serious in SSA due to the region's weak health care systems and low uptake of mental health services.…”

Substance use, mental health and weight‐related behaviours during the COVID‐19 pandemic in people with obesity

“…The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has been associated with mental health challenges related to public health recommendations, including social distancing and stay‐at‐home orders, as well as morbidity and mortality 1 . Population surveys have shown a substantial increase in self‐reported anxiety and depression in the United States 2,3 and other countries 4‐6 between April and June 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. Surveys show that over 40% of respondents reported at least one mental health condition, including anxiety or depression (30.9%), symptoms of a trauma‐ or stressor‐related disorder (26.3%), and having started or increased substance use (13.3%) to cope with the COVID‐19 pandemic 1 …”