Occupational Safety and Health Needs in Kenya: A Qualitative Exploration

Mbusiro Chacha ()
Additional contact information
Mbusiro Chacha: University of West of Scotland

Chapter Chapter 12 in Structural Transformation and Economic Development in Africa, 2026, pp 259-282 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract There is an existing knowledge gap in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) practice in Kenya. The scarcity of comprehensive research on Health and Safety (H&S) and emerging trends in the field evidence this gap. Lack of awareness has posed a major challenge in the management of H&S at work. Additionally, inadequate skilled professionals to deliver workplace H&S services has made many organisations in Kenya to adopt a culture that does not prioritise OSH. This has called for the need to identify the emerging OSH challenges in the country. According to previous data, there have been 7769 fatalities across all industry sectors in Kenya. This study explores the status of workplace H&S in Kenya, specifically on the identification of emerging OSH challenges and opportunities in the Kenyan context. The investigation profiles the knowledge, skills, and expertise among workplace Health and Safety Practitioners (HSPs) in Kenya, with the view of identifying training needs. The study used semi-structured interviews containing open-ended questions to collect qualitative data on the current and emerging risks to OSH in Kenya. The interviews involved 20 workplace HSPs identified from a data base containing a list of approved H&S advisers in Kenya. The thematic analysis of the interviews identified four main themes, namely, (i) Exposure to hazards, (ii) Emerging risks, (iii) Factors influencing OSH practice, and (iv) H&S training needs. The study established that there is a need to address the OSH challenges in Kenya to improve the management and practice of health and safety in the workplace.

Keywords: Occupational safety and health; Health and safety; Emerging risks; Training needs; Kenya (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-92318-0_12

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783031923180

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-92318-0_12

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().