Klao Bell, Staff Reporter
AN increasing number of Jamaicans are admitting to having some form of illness, the 2000 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions(JSLC) shows. The document, which represents four weeks of research was published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in September.
The number of people reporting sick has fluctuated over the past ten years, but last year it was 14.2 per cent, increasing from 10.1 per cent in 1999 and 8.8 per cent in 1998.
Ministry of Health officials say there are several possible reasons for the increase, including greater use of public health facilities, extended life expectancy and decreased death rate.
The information reflects the health status of the Jamaican population, based on answers given by participants in a four-week survey.
According to the JSLC, the health status of the population is "reasonably good." But there were higher reports of illnesses among people who live in rural parts of the island than those who live in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA).
Chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension were more common among rural residents than those in the KMA.
There has been consistency in the groups that usually have high reported illnesses.
Senior citizens made the highest reports of all age groups with 41.7 being afflicted by chronic illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis and hypertension.
Another group where there were high reports of illnesses were babies, four years old and under who were often plagued by diseases such as gastro-enteritis and respiratory diseases.
Dr. Yitades Gebre, epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health, said self-reported illnesses ranged from influenza and small injuries to diabetes and hypertension.
He said a significant point to note were the continual increase in use of clinics and health centres, as well as admissions and discharges from hospitals since 1996.
"Hospital admissions went from 145,000 in 1996 to 163,000 in 2000. The leading causes of admission are childbirth, accidents and injuries, diseases of the respiratory and digestive systems, heart diseases and diseases of the endocrine (kidney and thyroid diseases)," Dr. Gebre said.
Also the Director of the National HIV/STI Control Programme, Dr. Gebre pointed out that more persons are requiring treatment at hospitals. Visits to hospitals for HIV/AIDS patients increased from 500 in 1999 to 700 in 2000.
"The figures could also suggest that more people are relying on public health care services and switching from private. When they don't have money they go to public hospitals, there is a clear connection between poverty and illness that can be taken into consideration," Dr. Gebre said.
The JSLC also reported that the number of people living below the poverty line increased from 16.9 per cent in 1999 to 18.7 per cent in 2000.
