VULNERABILITY TO MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG PERSONS IN PROLONGED INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Disasters and the consequent displacement is common world over. Global trends indicate that disaster-induced displacement is on the rise, and is brought about by factors which include natural and human-made disasters as well as complex human conflicts. The most notable case of internal displacement in Kenya arose from the 2007-2008 post-election violence. Most of the displacees have been since resettled. Among the effects of displacement are loss of property, loss of livelihoods and mental health problems. The aim of this study was to establish the vulnerability to mental health problems among persons in prolonged displacement in Nakuru County of Kenya. The study was a qualitative survey in which a sample of 400 respondents was obtained from a population of 106,004 internally displaced persons who had been resettled. Data was collected using questionnaires and structured interview schedules. The mental health status was determined using an adapted version of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). This instrument has been used widely and established as having a test-retest reliability of about 0.91. Owing to the sensitive and personal nature of information sought, respondents were assured of confidentiality. The data was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 14.0. The research established that the respondents experienced considerable mental health problems as indicated by high scores in the overall Impact of Event Scale-Revised as well as in the intrusion, avoidance and hyper-vigilance sub-scales. This shows that the internally displaced persons, despite having been resettled, were still vulnerable to mental health problems. The findings are expected to help the government line-ministries and humanitarian agencies involved in humanitarian interventions plan mitigation of adverse mental health effects of disasters. In particular, they are useful in designing psychosocial interventions required in post-disaster scenarios, and especially where internal displacement is prolonged.