Leveraging research, community and collaboration towards robust COVID-19 mental health response in the Caribbean

Experiences with SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in Trinidad and Tobago, a small island developing state: realities and opportunities

“…In addition to a complete clinical series on the pathophysiology and management of SARS-CoV-2 infection, there was a spotlight on the mental health of healthcare workers and the struggles that were being experienced. 29 Above all else, the academic community worked assiduously and non-affiliated groups continued to perform large clinical and non-clinical trials some of which were aligned with large international studies 30 and others that focused on building the local body of research. 31 The distinct realized opportunity from this was that it fostered the importance of research to practice and inculcated the need for evidence based driven interventions.…”

Physical exercise and cognition in older adults, a scientific approach scanty reported in Latin America and Caribbean populations

“…According to the World Health Organization (WHO) ( 1 ), life expectancy has increased since the past century, and by 2030, 1 in 6 individuals will be aged 60 or more, and epidemiological projections indicate that it is expected that the world will be inhabited by 2.1 billion older adults in 2050 ( 2 ). Nevertheless, the downside of this demographic transition in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries is the heterogeneous and distributed social and health disparity-related risk factors for cognitive aging and dementia, a situation that is emphasized by the inadequate infrastructure and scarce scientific approaches to support the mental health in the individuals at the Caribbean Community ( 3 ). The growing elderly's demography emphasizes that health professionals should deeply understand older adults' biology and behavior pattern changes.…”