Dr Brock Chisholm, the first Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), stated that “without mental health there can be no true physical health”. The recent global Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has confirmed this statement true.

The pandemic control and mitigation measures affected everyone in the world. The closure of schools, market centres, public transport systems and companies led to uncertainties. The worst affected were the healthcare workers who were on the front-line in response to the pandemic. This situation triggered the necessity for this study.

The researchers envisaged to understand the social and psychological effects of the pandemic among healthcare workers and the mitigation measures they adopted to cope with the situation. The study was conducted among healthcare workers in selected hospitals in Busia, Bungoma and Kakamega Counties.

1. Inception meeting held on December 08^th, 2020
2. Refining proposal and development of data collection tools – December 11^th, 2020
3. Obtaining IERC approval, NACOSTI Research permit and approvals from the County directors of health and hospitals management – December 2020-January 2021
4. Mapping of study sites- February 08^th-12^th, 2021
5. Training of data collection enumerators – February 12^th, 2021
6. Data Collection – February 22^nd - March 03^rd, 2021
7. Data entry and analysis – March – April, 2021
8. Research coordination meeting – May 01^st, 2021
9. Development of dissemination booklet, dissemination slides, manuscripts for publication and reports writing - May-August 2021
10. Investigators review of draft Manuscripts – July 2021
11. Submission of manuscript titled “Mitigation of Mental Health Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic among Healthcare Workers in Western Kenya” to East African Medical Journal for review and publication –July 28^th, 2021
12. Submission of manuscript titled “Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders among Healthcare Workers in The Context of COVID-19 Pandemic In Western Region, Kenya” to African Journal of Health Sciences (AJHS) for review and publication –September 11^th, 2021
13. Submission of manuscript titled “Social and Psychological Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic among Healthcare Workers In Western Kenya” to East African Health Research Journal (EAHRJ) for review and publication –July 28^th, 2021
14. Poster presentation in the 14^th Multidisciplinary International Virtual Conference held in MMUST between May 19^th-21^st, 2021
15. Dissemination of study findings in Kakamega County – August 08^th, 2021
16. Dissemination of study findings in Busia County – August 19^th, 2021
17. Preparation of final report to the Directorate of Research and Postgraduate Support – September 2021

Principal Investigator
Department of Nutritional Sciences
School of Public Health, Biomedical Sciences and Technology
Email: sochieng@mmust.ac.ke
ORCID: : https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8904-4373
ResearcherID: AAP-9898-2020

Co-investigator
Department of Accounting and Finance
School of Business and Economics
Email: cyugi@mmust.ac.ke