Depression symptoms among Kenyan healthcare workers and associated factors

Andrew Aballa, Dorcas Mwigereri, Zhuo Zhao, Willie Njoroge, Linda Khakali, Rachel Maina, David Andai, James Orwa, Amos Bunde, Eileen Weinheimer-Haus, Jessica Baker, Lukoye Atwoli, Srijan Sen, Akbar Waljee, Anthony Ngugi, Amina Abubakar, Zhenke Wu, Zul Merali, Elena Frank (2025). JAMA Psychiatry
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TL;DR

New longitudinal data from Kenya show nearly half of healthcare workers met criteria for clinical depression over 1 year. Findings highlight the urgent need for culturally tailored mental health interventions among HCWs in LMICs. #UZIMA-DS

Abstract

The mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) is an important global health concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Kenya where unique stressors may place them at disproportionate risk for depression. However, depression prevalence and risk factors are not well understood in this population. To address this gap, we utilize longitudinal data collected among Kenyan HCWs based on the well-established Intern Health Study protocol, to evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and identify associated demographic, psychological, and workplace factors.