Health problems of women in Jamaica

1976–1985 has been declared the Decade for Women. In 1981, PAHO's Directing Council adopted a Five‐Year Regional Plan of Action on Women in Health and Development. The rationale for studying the health problems of women in the Caribbean are: Women's physiology and their lives are closely related to their reproductive functions; Women's health is reflected in the health of their children and families; and Women in the Caribbean are often the sole financial, social, and emotional providers for their families. The issues are: 1) nutrition, 2) fertility, 3) infection, 4) chronic diseases, and 5) stress and social problems. Results show that women suffer a significant level of anemia and have high fertility rates. Their morbidity due to infection, especially from sexually transmitted diseases are high and chronic diseases have a direct effect on the well‐being of their families. Stress is a cause of incipient ill health and some women resort to alcoholism, smoking, and drug abuse. The future of every country depends on the children who to a large extent depend on their mothers. Governments and organizations need to provide the milieu in which the conditions militating against the health of women will be eliminated. Finally, however, the onus lies on the individual

Action (physics · Environmental health · Fertility · Health problems · Population · Psychiatry · Reproductive health · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Medicine · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion · Psychology · Gerontology