Speech-language therapy in Kenya: An overview of practitioners, practices and professional needs.

Abstract

Background: Speech-language therapy in Kenya is an emerging profession, yet its workforce practices are not well-understood, and the needs of professionals have yet to be determined. While similar gaps have been reported in sub-Saharan Africa, the Kenyan context remains unknown.

Objectives: To describe current characteristics, practices and needs of speech-language therapists (SLTs) rendering services in Kenya.

Method: An electronic survey was completed by 46 SLTs across Kenya. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used, and open-ended questions were analysed qualitatively.

Results: Most Kenyan SLTs in this sample (78.4%) were located in the urban counties, multilingual and worked across multiple settings. Participants had varied qualifications and backgrounds. The sample included SLTs with overlapping caseloads of client ages - 67.0% served paediatric clients and 53.0% served adults, with many participants reporting that they worked across both groups. Challenges included limited resources (69.6%), high caseloads (52.0%) and a limited workforce. Participants expressed the need for peer support and improved guidelines for practice.

Conclusion: Despite the notable growth of the profession in Kenya, persistent challenges remain within the SLT workforce and structure of service provision. Addressing these requires strengthened collaboration, improved regulation and guidelines and targeted capacity-building to support equitable access to services.

Contribution: This study aimed to outline what the speech-language therapy profession in Kenya looks like, to contribute towards advocating for the profession and planning that can ultimately enhance the impact of SLTs in Kenya.