Psychological First Aid Practices Applied By Humanitarian Responders during Disasters in Kakamega County, Kenya

The need for Psychological first aid (PFA) is very significant during a disaster impact or any other traumatic event. Globally it was used in the United States of America following September 11th 2001 bombing, regionally in Liberia during Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015 and locally in Kenya during Westgate mall terror attack in September 24th 2013. The study objective was to examine PFA practices applied by humanitarian responders during disaster response because of a literature gap in PFA effectiveness. There is additional academic literature as existing research only explains PFA elements and its delivery process, however, there lacks evidence on effectiveness but this study has filled that gap. In terms of policy front, there existed a gap in Kakamega County disaster policy as it partially addresses PFA during disaster recovery. A conceptual framework consisting of self-efficacy theory, coping theory, disaster cross cultural counseling model and Community-based mental health and psychosocial support model was used to analyze PFA effectiveness. A descriptive research design was used, descriptive and inferential statistics were obtained by using SPSS software version 28 and excel spreadsheets respectively for data analysis. The study findings revealed that the most applied element is social connectedness at 92.2% and the least is hope at 56.2%. The study concludes that all PFA elements are not incorporated well enough therefore a detailed approach is required. The study recommends Kakamega County to maintain an effective system linking County Disaster committee, humanitarian organizations and local responders for improved disaster response and recovery.