Determinants of Climate Action Integration in Health Sector Policy Making in Kenya

Loise Nyanjau, Joseph Mutungi (PhD) and Zedekiah Sidha (PhD)
Additional contact information
Loise Nyanjau: National Defence University-Kenya.
Joseph Mutungi (PhD): National Defence University-Kenya.
Zedekiah Sidha (PhD): National Defence University-Kenya.

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, 2024, vol. 11, issue 8, 760-774

Abstract: The increasing threat of climate change poses significant challenges to global health, with Kenya being particularly vulnerable to its impacts. As temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more frequent, the country faces a growing burden of climate-related health challenges such as vector-borne diseases, malnutrition, and waterborne illnesses. In response to this threat, Kenya has taken steps to integrate climate action into its health policies, recognizing the urgent need to address the nexus between climate change and health. Despite these efforts, climate action has not been fully integrated into the health sector policies, necessitating this study to establish the barriers thereof. The study used a mixed methods approach and integrated key informant interviews and surveys to collect data, which was then analyzed using various inferential statistics. Statistical techniques such as t-tests, chi-square tests, and regression analyzes were used to identify significant patterns and relationships within the quantitative data. In addition, thematic analysis was used to interpret the qualitative data from the interviews and highlight key themes and insights related to integrating climate action in the health sector. The mixed-methods design followed an explanatory sequential approach, first collecting quantitative data from surveys to provide a comprehensive overview of climate action integration, followed by qualitative interviews to explore these findings in more depth. The target audience consisted of health sector stakeholders, including policymakers, practitioners and climate health experts. Participants were selected through purposive sampling to ensure relevant expertise and perspectives, supplemented by snowball sampling to further broaden the participant base. This comprehensive methodology enabled a detailed examination of the motivations, contexts, progress and barriers impacting the integration of climate action. While existing policy frameworks demonstrate a commitment to addressing climate-related health issues, challenges such as institutional silos, resource disparities, conflicting priorities, and complex stakeholder dynamics emerged as significant barriers to effective integration. Despite these challenges, opportunities exist to enhance integration through targeted actions focused on increasing awareness, improving data availability, strengthening governance structures, and garnering political support at all levels of government.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijrsi/d ... -issue-8/760-774.pdf (application/pdf)
https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijrsi/artic ... icy-making-in-kenya/ (text/html)

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:bjc:journl:v:11:y:2024:i:8:p:760-774

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation is currently edited by Dr. Renu Malsaria

More articles in International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation from International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Dr. Renu Malsaria ().