Self-assessed health of young-to-middle-aged adults in an English-speaking Caribbean nation

Abstract

Background:Gender differences in self-assessed health in young-to-middle-aged adults are understudied in the English-speaking Caribbean nations.Aims:The aims of the current research are to (1) provide demographic characteristics of young adults, (2) examine the self-assessed health of young adults, (3) identify social determinants that explain good health status for young adults, (4) determine the magnitude of each social determinant, and (5) reveal gender differences in self-assessed health.Materials and methods:This study extracted a subsample of 3,024 respondents from a larger nationally cross-sectional survey of 6,782 Jamaicans. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS v 16.0. Descriptive statistics were used to provide demographic information on the sample. Chi-square was used to examine the association between nonmetric variables, and an independent sample t-test was used to test the relationships between metric and dichotomous categorical variables. Logistic regression examined the relationship between the dependent variable and some predisposed independent variables.Results:One percent of the sample claimed injury and 8% illness. Self-reported diagnosed illnesses were influenza (12.7%), diarrhea (2.9%), respiratory disease (14.1%), diabetes mellitus (7.8%), hypertension (7.8%), arthritis (2.9%), and unspecified conditions (41.2%). The mean length of illness was 26 days (SD = 98.9). Nine social determinants and biological conditions explained 19.2% of the variability of self-assessed health. Biological conditions accounted for 78.1% of the explanatory model.Conclusion:Injury accounts for a miniscule percentage of illness and so using it to formulate intervention policies would lack the necessary depth to effectively address the health of this cohort.

Factors Associated With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Uptake Among Pregnant Women and Nonpregnant Women of Reproductive Age in Jamaica

“…In our study, government mistrust was negatively associated with COVID-19 vaccination, consistent with a September 2021 study of 1000 Jamaicans, which found that persons who lacked trust in the government were significantly less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19 [ 16 ]. The origin of government mistrust among pregnant women and other women of reproductive age in the Caribbean is not well studied but likely lies in colonialism, slavery, racism, and social inequities in westernized healthcare [ 39 ]. Enslaved pregnant Jamaican women experienced high maternal mortality rates, which persisted in the postcolonial era, with the first ever recorded MMR in 1878 being 600 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births [ 40 ].…”

“…In a 2006 study examining generalized trust in Jamaica, 1338 individuals were surveyed, 723 (54%) of whom were women. The results showed low levels of trust, with only 6% of women expressing trust in the government, and 3% reporting generalized trust (ie, combined trust in organizations, institutions, political entities, and interpersonal relationships) [ 39 ]. Low trust was attributed to a history of unbalanced power dynamics in male-female relationships, as well as historical corruption in politics [ 39 ].…”

A Comparative Analysis of Psychosocial Determinants of Self-rated Wellbeing for Elderly Citizens and Young Adults: Factor Differentials

“…In a comprehensive literature search studies on self-rated well-being, quality of life and health have mostly singled out particular cohorts such as young adults or youth [1][2][3][4], population [5][6][7][8][9][10][11], elderly [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26], children [27], and nations [28]; but none emerges that has compared factors that determine self-rated well-being for young adults and elderly in the English-speaking Caribbean, especially Jamaica. Why is this important?…”