Surveillance of Health Outcomes and Their Determinants

The epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases across the Caribbean, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, is now the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the region. This has led to a significant increase in health care costs, which have threatened to undo the gains in life expectancy achieved through the many public health initiatives instituted arising from the 1938 Moyne Commission. Periodic surveys and efficient surveillance systems have proven to be a cost-effective means of monitoring trends in chronic non-communicable disease epidemiology, which is critical for guiding policy and resource allocation at the national and international levels, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to improve management of these diseases and their risk factors.

Projects

• Barbados National Registry for Chronic Non-communicable Disease
• Drivers of Childhood Obesity Project
• Assessment of the School Environment
• H3ABioNet Sickle Cell Disease Ontology (started off as part of H3ABioNet, now an activity under the Sickle Cell Data Coordinating Centre)
• Understanding the Intersection of Stigma and Self-Management of Sickle Cell Disease in Jamaica and the United States
• Transition in adolescents with SCD
• Developing a Predictive Model for Acute Chest Syndrome Risk in Sickle Cell Disease Adults in Jamaica: A Pilot Study.
• Comparing the Association between Vascular Dysfunction (as measured by external carotid artery mechanics, prevalent stroke and Transcranial Doppler Diagnosis among children aged 4-16 years with Sickle Cell Anaemia at the Sickle Cell Unit
• Caregiver burden of stroke in children with sickle cell disease
• Patient and Parent Awareness and Perception of Clinical Trials and their impact on "Willingness to Participate"
• The Status of Sickle Cell in Jamaica : Results from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey III
• The impact of Climate Change and Health in Jamaica with special reference to vector borne diseases and sickle cell disease
• Validating the use of daily spleen stick readings for the detection of early signs of Acute Splenic Sequestration in children with sickle cell disease.