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These factors are important in shaping discussions surrounding the mental health of athletes and the design of subsequent interventions to support them. However, such consideration is rare, particularly when considering the mental health of athletes in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, this Current Opinion draws on behavioural change science and multi-disciplinary expertise in elite sport, medicine, health, psychology, coaching and anthropology in the context of elite runners in Kenya. The material conditions in this country are reflected in the prevalence of poor mental health and treatment availability. We explore the mental health of elite Kenyan runners within this context and provide recommendations surrounding the treatment of mental health conditions in elite sport globally. We conclude that a consensus on the mental health of elite athletes must be informed by contextual factors, including affordability, appropriateness, availability, and accessibility of mental health services relating to local conditions. This context-specific approach could be expanded to mental health in settings other than sport such as youth organisations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s40279-025-02283-6","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]],"date-time":"2025-09-02T00:42:47Z","timestamp":1756773767000},"page":"2701-2705","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Cultural Context and Mental Health: A Kenyan Elite Athlete\u2019s Perspective"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"55","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6372-5461","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrew","family":"Kirkland","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5461-0598","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna C.","family":"Whittaker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Boit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephen","family":"Chinn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1003-9078","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael","family":"Crawley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6891-4990","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Ndetei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paul","family":"Ochieng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ewan","family":"Stirling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Irene","family":"Chesire","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]]},"reference":[{"issue":"11","key":"2283_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"667","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2019-100715","volume":"53","author":"CL Reardon","year":"2019","unstructured":"Reardon CL, Hainline B, Aron CM, Baron D, Baum AL, Bindra A, et al. 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Andrew Kirkland, Anna C. Whittaker, Michael Boit, Stephen Chinn, Michael Crawley, Paul Ochieng, Ewan Stirling and Irene Chesire have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Conflicts of Interest\/Competing Interests"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics Approval"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":5,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent to Participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":6,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for Publication"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":7,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Availability of Data and Material"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":8,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Code Availability"}},{"value":"AK conceptualised the focus of and contributed to all elements of the manuscript. All other authors added to it by providing sociocultural and discipline-specific expertise. All authors were involved in adding to and proofing the final manuscript apart from SC. Stephen Chinn died prior to the submission of the manuscript.","order":9,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Authors\u2019 Contributions"}}]}}