Effects of Crisis Communication Strategies on Public Perception of Nyandarua County Government, Kenya

Abstract

The public perception of county governments is associated with inefficiency, mismanagement,
and inadequate crisis communication. The study’s purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of
crisis communication strategies by the Nyandarua County Government and its role in shaping
public perception. It was anchored on situational crisis communication theory and chaos
theory. This study adopted a convergent parallel mixed methods research design. A qualitative
methodology with a descriptive approach was employed. The target population consisted of 63
key stakeholders from the Nyandarua County Government, including 2 communication
directors, 10 representatives from the governor's office, 10 County Executive Committee
members, and 41 Members of the County Assembly. In addition, the study engaged 10 local
journalists, 1000 County residents, 60 civil society members, 120 community leaders, and 50
bloggers thus the total was 1303. A sample of 285 respondents was selected using convenience
sampling, computed through Creswell’s sample size determination formula. Data was
collected by questionnaire and an interview schedule and SPSS aided analysis. The descriptive
findings indicated that crisis communication strategies affect public perception. Additionally,
the correlation analysis revealed that timely information dissemination, empathetic messaging,
audience segmentation, and feedback integration all had statistically significant relationship
with public perception. Regression analysis further revealed that crisis communication
strategies accounted for 61.4% of the variation in public perception. The study concludes that
crisis communication strategies play a pivotal role in determining public perception. It is
recommended that the Nyandarua County Government implement structured updates, humancentered communication, and robust feedback mechanisms to improve public perception. The
study contributes to theory by refining crisis communication models. It practically enhances
communication strategies and guide policy through citizen-centered communication
frameworks.