Impact of Stigma of Handling Dead Bodies on the Psychological Well-Being of Mortuary Workers in Nairobi County, Kenya
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Date
2024-10
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
Research has shown that stigma can lead to harmful effects on an individuals’ self-concept and their mental health. Many studies indicated that mortuary workers carry an important role in society by handling the dead bodies in preparation for burial or cremation on behalf of the bereaved families yet there were a few studies that have investigated the psychological effects of mortuary work on mortuary workers especially in the Kenyan context. This study sought to establish the impact of stigma on psychological distress of mortuary workers. Social stigma theory was used to inform the study. The researcher employed Concurrent triangulation design to determine the relationship between the independent variable, stigma and the dependent variable, psychological distress of mortuary workers in Nairobi County. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 60 funeral workers that handled dead bodies from public, institutional and private mortuaries in Nairobi County. The study adopted three different instruments- Kessler Wellness Scale (K-1O) to test anxiety and depression, Everyday Discrimination Scale to test perceived stigma experience and a self-developed individual interview schedule to assess perceived stigma. Descriptive statistics in form of frequencies and percentages were used to analyze demographic data while linear regression analysis was used to make inferences on collected data. The discrimination scale determined that most mortuary workers faced stigma, up to 46.7% receiving poorer service, 29.7% being considered worse than other people, and 57.5% being insulted. In addition, the Kessler Scale found that 43.5% of the respondents agreed that they experienced depressed mood over the past 30 days. Moreover, more than 60% established that they felt fidgety, nervous, sad, and worthless. Linear regression findings established that level of stigma had a statistically significant positive impact on psychological distress (β=0.305, p=0.002). The study recommended that mortuary workers be provided with professional support as well as funeral homes administrators improving working environment of mortuary workers through training and providing psychological help in order to mitigate the effects of psychological distress.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts (Counseling Psychology) of Kenyatta University, October 2024.
Supervisor
Eunice Githae