Population In Jamaica Research Articles

Layered stigma among health-care and social service providers toward key affected populations in Jamaica and The Bahamas

While considerable research has documented stigma toward key populations affected by HIV and AIDS – men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers (SWs) – it provided limited empirical evidence on the presence of layered stigma among health-care professionals providing services for these populations. C-Change conducted a survey among 332 staff of health-care and social service agencies in Jamaica and The Bahamas to understand the levels of stigma toward people living with HIV (PLHIV), including MSM and SWs and factors associated with stigma. While most health-care professionals responding to the survey said that PLHIV, MSM, and SWs deserved quality care, they expressed high levels of blame and negative judgments, especially toward MSM and SWs. Across a stigma assessment involving eight vignette characters, the highest levels of stigma were expressed toward PLHIV who were also MSM or SWs, followed by PLHIV, MSM, and SWs. Differences were assessed by gender, country, type of staff, type of agency, and exposure to relevant training. Findings indicate higher reported stigma among nonclinical vs. clinical staff, staff who worked in general vs. MSM/SW-friendly health facilities, and among untrained vs. training staff. This implies the need for targeted staff capacity strengthening as well as improved facility environments that are MSM/SW-friendly.

Correlates of symptoms of depression and anxiety among clinic patients in western Jamaica.

There is a paucity of studies on psychosocial disorders in clinic populations in Jamaica. Therefore, we sought to determine the prevalence and correlates of symptoms of depression and anxiety in a clinic population in western Jamaica. A total of 338 participants from four outpatient clinics of : A total of 338 participants from four outpatient clinics of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) were screened for symptoms of depression and anxiety using questions from the Beck Depression Inventory-II and the Beck Anxiety Inventory. The Chi-square test was used to examine differences in symptoms of anxiety and depression by gender. Multivariate linear and logistic regression were used to examine the associations between symptoms and sociodemographic variables with significance set at p<0.05. Approximately 30% of participants had moderate or severe depression symptoms while 18.6% had moderate or severe anxiety symptoms. Participants aged 30-39 years were more likely than older participants to have moderate or severe anxiety symptoms (odds ratio [OR]: 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.39, 5.56). Women reported a statistically significant higher prevalence of anxiety symptoms (10.0% vs 7.1%, p = 0.003). There was also a statistically significant difference between anxiety means by gender. Furthermore, income was found to be a significant predictor of anxiety for women only (p = 0.0113). Married persons were more likely than those who had never married to have moderate or severe anxiety symptoms (OR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.14, 5.76). Our findings suggest that the prevalence of depression may be higher than global estimates in similar outpatient settings. Screening and intervention efforts may need to focus on younger persons, women, and married persons.

Coerced Care: Thomas Thistlewood's Account of Medical Practice on Enslaved Populations in Colonial Jamaica, 1751–1786

This essay uses the Thistlewood family papers as a health record for the enslaved population in Jamaica. It examines the medical aspects of Thistlewood's journals, contextualising them in the social, political and cultural environment in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Examples of his provisions for medical care throughout his life are investigated systematically. Through counts from the original documents, the author identifies a seasonal pattern of disease and mortality on large and small Jamaican plantations and estimates an infant mortality rate of approximately 420 per 1000 births for Jamaican infants born into slavery.

A 6‐year analysis of the clinicopathological profile of patients with prostate cancer at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica

OBJECTIVE To document the clinicopathological characteristics of prostate cancer in a public hospital-based population in Jamaica, over a 6-year period, and examine any trends in these characteristics over time, as prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer in Jamaican men, but there are few published reports documenting the clinicopathological profile of this disease in the Jamaican population. PATIENTS AND METHODS All patients consecutively diagnosed with prostate cancer by transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy at the University Hospital of the West Indies, from January 2000 to December 2005, were identified at time of diagnosis, and relevant clinical and pathological data collected from the accompanying histopathology request forms. RESULTS There were 529 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed over the 6 years. The mean (sd) age was 70.66 (8.74) years, with 137 patients aged 70-74 years. A serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was obtained for 490 (92.6%) patients. Of these, an accurate PSA value was available for 456 (86.2%) patients and a 'minimum level' recorded for the remaining 34, all of whom had a PSA level of >100 ng/mL. Of the patients with available PSA information, only 91 (18.5%) had a level of < or =10.0 ng/mL. By contrast, 155 (31.6%) patients had levels of >100 ng/mL. The median (range, interquartile range) serum PSA level for those patients with accurate values was 30.7 (1-14 260, 11.7-109) ng/mL. Histologically, moderately and poorly differentiated cancers accounted for 198 (37.5%) and 160 (30.2%) cases, respectively. Correlation of the variables under investigation confirmed that there was a statistically significant positive and moderate correlation between serum PSA level and Gleason score (Spearman r 0.49; P < 0.001). Statistical analysis of all other variables, including the number of cases of prostate cancer diagnosed annually, showed no significant differences. CONCLUSION Compared with many countries, including some in the Caribbean, prostate cancer in Jamaican men is diagnosed when they are older and these patients have significantly higher PSA levels at diagnosis, suggesting more advanced disease. Despite increasing public awareness of prostate cancer, it appears that there has been no significant change in the profile of patients with prostate cancer, at the time of diagnosis, over the last 6 years, findings consistent with the absence of an organized screening programme for prostate cancer in Jamaica.

UniqueCryptosporidiumPopulation in HIV-Infected Persons, Jamaica

A cryptosporidiosis survey showed the presence of Cryptosporidium hominis, C. parvum, C. canis, and C. felis in 25, 7, 1, and 1 HIV-positive persons from Jamaica, respectively; 1 person had both C. hominis and C. felis. Multilocus sequence typing indicated the presence of a homogeneous but geographically distinct C. hominis population in Jamaica.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Vulnerable Populations in Jamaica: Protecting Children within the Comprehensive Disaster Management Framework

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the disaster management headquarters of the Government of Jamaica, understands that the best approach to take in effectively protecting children during emergency situations is to create a culture of risk reduction in which all involved are aware of their local hazards and are actively involved in reducing the resulting risks. This includes the promotion of disaster risk education in schools and also the twin effort of integrating children's needs into the Comprehensive Disaster Management framework. This field report describes the efforts of the ODPEM in protecting Jamaican children in emergency situations. This was and continues to be achieved through two main approaches: building a culture of prevention in and through schools and integrating children's rights into disaster management and response.

The nature of poverty in the garrison constituencies in Jamaica

In 2001, 16.9 per cent of the population in Jamaica was living in poverty, down from 30.5 per cent in 1989. Jamaica is well on its way to achieving the first Millennium Development Goal of halving by 2015 the number of persons living in extreme poverty. However, policy makers are particularly concerned about the persistent high levels of poverty in the rural areas. This paper argues that although the incidence of urban poverty has been consistently lower than that of rural poverty, there are certain urban areas that warrant special policy attention. In spite of a reduction in poverty at the macro level in these “garrison constituencies”, the quality of life for the residents has not improved significantly, and any sustained improvement will be extremely difficult given the quality of their political and social capital. There has been no sustained political will to dismantle these garrison constituencies, and everyday life is deeply entrenched in crime, violence and political patronage. Unless there are deliberate and well-targeted policies to dismantle these constituencies and break the stranglehold that the political and criminal elements have on the residents, then they will never experience any sustained improvement in their quality of life.

Isolation and characterization of novel dinucleotide repeat microsatellites in the Jamaican click beetle Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

AbstractWe report 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the Jamaican click beetle, Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus. A survey of 36 individuals from three populations in Jamaica showed that these are highly variable, with three to 17 alleles per locus. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.250 to 0.917, and mean heterozygosity from 0.601 to 0.747. Most loci were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, although excess of homozygotes was observed in four tests (out of 20), suggesting the possibility of null alleles. Significant linkage disequilibrium was observed for only one pair. These newly developed markers will be useful in understanding the population structure of click beetles in Jamaica, and in identifying possible selective factors responsible for bioluminescent colour variation.

The Prevalence of Obesity and its Relationship with Lifestyle Factors in Jamaica

We surveyed the prevalence of obesity in the general population in Jamaica, and examined the relationship between it and lifestyle. The survey population consisted of 1,935 inhabitants in Jamaica, whose body weight, height, marital status, educational history, employment status and other obesity-associated lifestyle factors were surveyed. Six major findings emerged. The first finding is that the proportion of obesity in women was very high, and there was a big gender difference. Secondly, a lower prevalence towards obesity was associated with cohabitation of the subjects in both genders, and higher educational levels in female subjects. Thirdly, the proportion of the subjects who considered their weight to be quite acceptable was higher in the obese/overweight groups in both genders. Fourthly, exercise frequency showed a negative correlation with the body mass index (BMI) in men, and the frequency of exercising was apparently lower in women than in men. Fifthly, as for dietary factors, in both genders vegetables showed a negative correlation with the BMI. Sixthly, non-smokers were also associated with a lower obesity prevalence in men. In conclusions, these findings suggest that social and lifestyle factors such as the educational level, marital status and dietary habits of the general population influence Jamaican obesity.

Obesity and lifestyle in Jamaica

We surveyed the prevalence of obesity in the general population in Jamaica, and examined the relationship between it and lifestyle. The survey population consisted of 1935 inhabitants, whose body weight, marital status, educational history, and other obesity-associated lifestyle factors were surveyed. Six major findings emerged. The first finding is that the proportion of obesity in women was very high, and there was a big gender difference. Secondly, a lower prevalence towards obesity was associated with cohabitation of the subjects in both genders, and higher educational levels in female subjects. Thirdly, the proportion of the subjects who considered their weight to be quite acceptable was higher in the obese/overweight groups in both genders, although they felt physically unfit. Fourthly, exercise frequency showed a negative correlation with the body mass index (BMI) in men but not in women, and the frequency of exercising was apparently lower in women than in men. Fifthly, as for dietary factors, in both genders, vegetables showed a negative correlation with the BMI. Finally, non-smokers were also associated with a lower obesity prevalence in men. These findings suggest that social and lifestyle factors such as the educational level, marital status and dietary habits of the general population influence Jamaican obesity.

Estimating the time of HTLV-I infection following mother-to-child transmission in a breast-feeding population in Jamaica.

Mother-to-child transmission of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is primarily due to prolonged breast-feeding (>6 months) in the postnatal period. Most infant infections are not identifiable until 12 to 18 months of age by available whole virus Western blot serologic tests because of their inability to distinguish passively transferred maternal antibody from infant antibody. We investigated two methods to assess more accurately the time of infant infection. In prospectively collected serial biospecimens, HTLV-I-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes of IgM and IgA were determined by Western blot and HTLV-I proviral DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). IgA and IgG reactivity was assessed in periodic serum samples from 16 HTLV-I-seropositive children while IgM reactivity was assessed in 9 of the 16 children. Approximately three to five samples were tested for each child. IgG reactivity was observed in 100% of children at 24 months of age and 73% of children at 6-12 months of age; however, this could represent maternal and not infant antibody. Both IgA and IgM reactivity were insensitive indicators of infection, with only 50% of children showing reactivity at 24 months of age. PCR testing was performed in biospecimens obtained from 11 of these children. An estimated median time of infection of 11.9 months was determined by PCR, which was similar to the median time to infection determined by whole virus Western blot (12.4 months; P = 0.72). PCR tests support a median time to infection that is similar to that estimated by whole virus Western blot.

Incidence of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) in Jamaica and Trinidad.

HTLV-I is sexually transmitted more efficiently from men to women than vice versa, and the majority of HTLV-I endemic areas report a female preponderance of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) cases. The objective of this study was to estimate the gender- and age-specific incidence rates of HAM/TSP in the general population as well as in the HTLV-I-infected population in Jamaica and in Trinidad and Tobago. Incidence rates for HAM/TSP were computed based on all reported incident cases in both countries between 1990 and 1994. Population census reports for 1990 were used to calculate the population at risk. The age-standardized HAM/TSP incidence rate (mean +/- standard error of the mean) in Jamaica was 1.8 +/- 0.2/100,000 person years (PY). Among individuals of African descent in Trinidad and Tobago, the rate was 1.7 +/- 0.4/100,000 PY. As in HTLV-I seroprevalence, the incidence rate of HAM/TSP increased with age through the fifth decade of life and was three times as high in women than in men. The HAM/TSP incidence rate, calculated as a function of the number of HTLV-I-infected persons in each age stratum, is higher in women (24.7/100,000 PY) than in men (17.3/100,000 PY). With HTLV-I infection, the lifetime risk of developing HAM/TSP was estimated to be 1.9% overall and is slightly higher in women (1.8%) than in men (1.3%). Thus, the higher prevalence of HTLV-I in women in endemic areas does not fully explain the preponderance of female HAM/TSP, suggesting that other cofactors must be present. The higher incidence rate in women between the ages of 40 and 59 years, as well as the increase in HAM/TSP incidence rates with age, are indicative of the importance of adult-acquired HTLV-I infection, presumably through sexual transmission.

Coral Reef Catastrophe

The Catastrophes, phase shifts,and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef by Terence P. Hughes (9 Sept., p.1547) relates the sad story of the decline of scleractinian coral populations in Jamaica over the past two decades. The article is a rare example of the long-term research needed to document trends on reefs; however, the monitoring program design appears to have excluded at least one potentially important causal factor, and the solution offered does not address sociopolitical reality. The data in the study by Hughes show a rapid decline of coral populations initiated by a 1980 hurricane. Coral cover declined further after the reduction of an herbivorous sea urchin, Diadema antillarum, resulting from disease, while the cover of fleshy macro-algae bloomed. Thus two natural events, hurricanes and disease, have decimated Jamaica's coral reefs. It is not clear what effect human activities have had on fleshy algae on these reefs and what, if anything, we can do to help the coral.

Community psychiatry and deinstitutionalization in Jamaica.

Between 1960 and 1990, the population of Jamaica's single mental hospital was reduced by 58 percent, from more than 3,000 to less than 1,300. Services were reoriented from mental-hospital-based custodial care to rehabilitative, community-based care with no appreciable increase in the mental health budget. Despite several changes in government over the past 30 years, continuity of public policy and fiscal support has allowed ongoing development of the island's community mental health services. The national community mental health service, which had a case-load of about 14,000 patients in 1990, relies on specially trained psychiatric nurse practitioners who provide crisis management, medication management, and supportive psychotherapy; make home visits; and carry out treatment plans developed by the community psychiatrist. Community acceptance of mentally ill persons has been enhanced by public education programs and media coverage of advances in treatment.

Surveying Wintering Warbler Populations in Jamaica: Point Counts with and without Broadcast Vocalizations

Two independent methods were used to quantify abundances and population structure of two paruline wood warblers, the American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) and Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens), wintering in Jamaica, West Indies. One conventional 10-min point count was followed by 5 min each of redstart, then Blackthroated Blue Warbler vocalizations (a mixture of territorial songs and chip notes recorded during the breeding season) at each of 585 points in 18 habitats. Age and sex composition of the target species were recorded along with observations of other species. Compared with conventional point counts, those supplemented with playback of vocalizations (1) detected 3.0 and 2.3 times more American Redstarts and Black-throated Blue Warblers, respectively, (2) disclosed significantly more individuals of three other migrant species and one year-round resident species belonging to the warbler guild, (3) facilitated identification of age and sex of target species by attracting them closer to the observer, and (4) confirmed that wintering individuals of both species of were dispersed as expected for a territorial species. Compared with yearling males and with females, older redstart males were observed significantly more frequently during playbacks than predicted by pre-playback relative frequencies. No such sex bias was found for Black-throated Blue Warblers, a species in which age cannot be reliably determined except with hand-held individuals. Diurnal variation in surveyed abundances of both species was relatively minor, but was significantly less pronounced for playback counts than for pre-vocalization counts in Black-throated Blue Warblers. Our results indicate that broadcast territorial advertisement vocalizations provide a powerful tool to study the ecology and distribution of neotropical migrant songbirds in winter.

An experimental study of the use of arm regeneration in estimating rates of sublethal injury on brittle-stars

The ophiuroids Ophiomyxa flaccida (Say), Ophionereis reticulata (Say), Ophiocoma wendtii Müller & Troschel, O. echinata (Lamarck), O. pumila Lütken, Ophioderma appressum (Say), O. cinereum Müller & Troschel, and Ophiolepis impressa (Lütken) in back-reef populations in Jamaica were found to differ significantly in the number of arms regenerating. The proportion of arms regenerating varied from 74.4% for Ophionereis reticulata to 28.3% for Ophiolepis impressa. Regeneration rates, hitherto unknown except for Ophiocoma pumila, were determined for all the species for a single arm over a 3-month period. O. wendtii had the highest rate, regenerating 55% of its mean maximum arm length in 3 months, and O. impressa the slowest, regenerating only 23% of its mean maximum arm length in the same time. Injury rates, i.e., the number of arms broken and the total percent loss estimated to have occurred in the month prior to collection, were determined by dating wounds with reference to regeneration rates over 1 month. The species differed significantly in injury rates. O. pumila and O. reticulata suffered the highest levels of injury and O. impressa the least. Injury rates were not simply related to either the palatability to predators or the behaviour of the brittle-stars.

Aspects of the population dynamics and reproductive success in the permanently territorial beaugregory damselfish

A beaugregory damselfish (Eupomacentrus leucostictus) population in Jamaica, W.I., was censured and revealed continuous changes in numbers of individuals for all size classes. The smallest size class, juveniles, was most abundant on the loose sand substratum while adults were common only in areas with numerous pieces of small rubble. The change in habitat from juvenile to adult is attributed to both selected mortality and active movement of the juveniles. Most females and a large segment of the adult male population exhibited continuous changes in location. Females may have been continuously searching for suitable mates while mobile males were probably searching for suitable vacant areas with spawning sites. Once a male selects a spawning site, he remains highly stationary, irrespective of his subsequent reproductive success.

Finding Jamaica's Way

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses Jamaica's democratic traditions and economic development. Jamaica has maintained the spirit, and the institutions of the democratic tradition it inherited from the British. At the same time, the Jamaicans have a severe case of nearly every current less developed countries economic disease—high unemployment, and inflation, profound international payments imbalance, foreign debt, fluctuating commodity prices, black markets, dislocated populations, and scarce capital. Schemes for regional cooperation and integration, therefore, offer Jamaica no genuine solutions to its economic dilemma. The heart of that dilemma is that as poor as most of Jamaica's population is, the country as a whole has been living beyond its means at least since 1974. As a result, in 1977 and 1978, it came under an austere International Monetary Fund regimen to reduce consumption as a proportion of gross domestic product, thus, making available resources to stimulate production, and investment in the private sector. The most important political fact about Jamaica is its maldistribution of income.

Jamaica's Folk Music

The written history of Jamaica goes back only 477 years, starting with the coming of the Spaniards under Christopher Columbus in 1494. Columbus and his men were greeted on arrival by a party of Arawak Indians, including a Chief and musicians. The Arawaks were gentle peace-loving people who had lived in Jamaica for about 800 years before Columbus came. However, they were unable to endure the enslavement and the harsh treatment which they suffered at the hands of the Spaniards and by the 16th century, with the help of European diseases against which they had no resistance, they seemed to have become extinct. They left no written records that have yet been discovered and very little of their way of life survived. No sure remains of their music culture have been found. We have looked for our remote roots from other sources. The Spaniards replaced the Arawaks with enslaved Africans, the first of whom arrived in about the year 1517. These people formed the beginning of the present day population of Jamaica, and when the Spaniards were driven out by the English, (between 1655 – 1660) they and a handful of Portuguese Jews, were all that remained. Under the English the island quickly became a slave colony dedicated to the production of sugar. Increasing numbers of Africans were brought in as slaves, and continued to be until 1807 when the slave trade was abolished. The Africans came mostly from the West Coast of Africa and were made up mostly of Fans, Akims, Ashanties, Ebos, Pawpaws and Mandingoes.

Absolute values of photon emission from the marine dinoflagellates Pyrodinium bahamense, Gonyaulax polyedra and Pyrocystis lunula.

Abstract— The total photons emitted per organism upon complete stimulation during the dark phase of their photoperiod for P. bahamense, G. polyedra and P. lunula are 2·8 × 108± 15%; 1·2 × 108± 12% and 40 × 108± 11% respectively, P. bahamense in natural populations in Jamaica. W. 1. emitted the same total stimulable light per organism as in laboratory cultures. The bioluminescent emission spectra are the same for all three species (vmax.= 20.860 cm‐1).