A recent feature by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) highlighted key findings from the NIHR-SHINE Study, bringing national focus to the financial and psychological pressures facing Community Health Providers (CHPs) in Nairobi and Kiambu counties.
Led by Lvcthealth in partnership with the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), and BRAC JPGSPH, the study examines the unseen factors affecting frontline health workers.
Key findings
- Stipend Inadequacy: Over 93% of surveyed CHPs in both counties reported that the current KSh 5,000 monthly stipend is inadequate relative to their workload.
- Out-of-Pocket Expenses: 92% to 94% of CHPs regularly spend their own money on airtime, transport, and emergency aid for households.
- Mental Health Impact: Across both regions, 22.4% of CHPs screened positive for depression, 30.6% for anxiety, and 12.7% for stress. Rates were significantly higher in Nairobi’s urban informal settlements.
Our response
The SHINE project focuses on actionable solutions. In response to these findings, the team has implemented mental health literacy and self-care training, directly supporting over 500 CHPs and supervisors across the pilot sites.
To build a resilient primary healthcare workforce, SHINE continues to advocate for timely county-level stipend disbursements and structured psychosocial support for all CHPs.
Read more on KBC: Stress worries as counties urged to prioritize payment of community health workers