Organizational leadership perspectives in implementation of the One Health approach: A case of the Zoonotic Disease Unit and core One Health implementers in Kenya

Research Article

International Journal of One Health, 3: 57-65

https://doi.org/10.14202/IJOH.2017.57-65

Thomas Manyibe Nyariki¹, Mathew Muturi², Athman Mwatondo², Michael Cheruiyot³, Harry Oyas³, Vincent Obanda⁴, Francis Gakuya⁴, Rees Murithi Mbabu³, and Mercy Muthoni Mugambi¹

1. Department of Extra Mural Studies, University of Nairobi, Main Campus, P. O. Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
2. Zoonotic Disease Unit, KNH Compound, NASCOP Ground, Opp. Afya, P.O. Box 20811-0020, Nairobi, Kenya.
3. State Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries, Office of the Director of Veterinary Services, Veterinary Research Laboratories, Private Bag, Kabete, Kangemi 00625, Nairobi, Kenya.
4. Kenya Wildlife Services, P.O. Box 40241-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.

Background and Aim: This study examined organizational leadership as a cross-sectoral collaboration factor in the implementation of the One Health (OH) approach using Kenya's Zoonotic Disease Unit and its core OH implementers as an example.

Materials and Methods: The study used a mixed methods research design. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 71 respondents, and key informants were interviewed using an interview guide. All the seven key informants and 53 (74%) of the respondents participated in the study. Data were checked for consistency, coded, entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, and analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed thematically.

Results: From the analysis, 41/53 (77.2%) of the respondents were senior personnel, 51/53 (85%) of them had worked for 5 years and above in their organizations, and 38/53 (71.7%) had at least a Master's degree. The study established that although most leaders in the organizations had embraced the OH approach, they were not actively involved in its implementation due to constraints such as inadequate funding. There were moderate and statistically significant positive correlations between participation in leadership roles in implementing the OH approach and the level of awareness (Rs (51)=0.54, p<0.001) as well as level of sensitization (Rs (51)=0.52, p<0.001). Majority (86%) of respondents acknowledged that top government leaders were not well sensitized about the OH approach.

Conclusion: Organizational leadership plays an important role in the implementation of the OH approach. However, sensitization of leaders about the OH approach needs to be enhanced and expanded. Keywords: cross-sectoral collaboration, One Health approach, organizational leadership, sensitization.

Keywords: cross-sectoral collaboration, One Health approach, organizational leadership, sensitization.

How to cite this article: Nyariki MT, Muturi M, Mwatondo A, Cheruiyot M, Oyas H, Obanda V, Gakuya F, Mbabu RM, Mugambi MM. Organizational leadership perspectives in implementation of the One Health approach: A case of the Zoonotic Disease Unit and core One Health implementers in Kenya. Int J One Health 2017;3:57-65.

Received: 15-08-2017 Accepted: 14-09-2017 Published online: 17-10-2017

Corresponding author: Thomas Manyibe Nyariki E-mail: nyarikitom@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/IJOH.2017.57-65

Copyright: Nyariki, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.