Original Article   OPEN ACCESS

Health of females in Jamaica: using two cross-sectional surveys

Paul Andrew Bourne

Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences
University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica.

Cite this article: Bourne PA. Health of Females in Jamaica: using two cross-sectional surveys. North Am J Med Sci 2009; 1: 272-278.    doi:10.4297/najms.2009.5272
Availability: www.najms.org
ISSN: 1947 – 2714

Abstract
Background: The 21st Century cannot see the examination of health status of elderly, population, children and adolescents; but not for females. Aims: current study are 1) to examine the health conditions; 2) provide an epidemiological profile of changing health conditions in the last one half decade (2002-2007); 3) evaluate whether self-reported illness is a good measure of health status; 4) compute the mean age of females having particular health conditions; 5) calculate the mean age of being ill compared with those who are not ill; and 6) assess the correlation between health status and income quintile. Methods and Results: In 2002, a subsample of 12,675 females was extracted from the sample of 25,018 respondents and for 2007; a subsample of 3,479 females was extracted from 6,783 respondents. Results: There is reduction in the mean age of females reported being diagnosed with chronic illness such as diabetes mellitus (60.54 ± 17.14 years); hypertension (60.85 ± 16.93 years) and arthritis 59.72 ± 15.41 years). The greatest decline in mean age of chronically ill diagnosed females was in arthritic cases (by 7.41 years). Concurrently, the mean age of females with unspecified health conditions fell by (33%, from 54.62 ± 21.77 years in 2002 to 36.42 ± 23.69 years in 2007). Conclusion: Although healthy life expectancy for females at birth in Jamaica was 66 years, improvements in their health status cannot be neglected as there are shits in health conditions (to diabetes mellitus) as well as the decline in ages at which females are being diagnosed with particular chronic illnesses.

Keywords: Health, health status, health conditions, self-reported health, public health, female, epidemiological shifts in diseases, Jamaica.

Correspondence to: Paul Andrew Bourne, Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica. Tel: (876) 457-6990. Email: paulbourne1@yahoo.com