Research

Research is one of the cornerstones of the Hugh Wynter Fertility Management Unit’s activities and is undertaken to support its programme delivery as well as conducting studies on behalf of international, regional and national bodies and organizations. Among the external bodies are Ministries of Health and Education in Jamaica and other Caribbean countries, CARICOM, World Health organization, UNICEF, Family Health International, Futures Group Incorporated, United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), National Family Planning Board, and the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation. Research contributes to the income generating efforts of the Unit by responding to tenders nationally, regionally and internationally within our expertise.

The areas covered are clinical research on reproductive health conditions and treatment modalities, family planning methods, evaluative and operational research. Target groups include mainly clients, adolescents and service providers. Research findings are disseminated through conferences, seminars and publications.

Our publications have graced leading international journals to include Fertility and Sterility, The International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Contraception and the West Indies Medical Journal amongst others. Publications have been on topics such as Uterine Fibroids, Vasectomy, Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, Intrauterine Insemination to name a few. Professor Joseph Frederick was awarded the UWI’s Best Researcher in 2005. Professor Frederick, Dr. Christie and colleagues’ collaboration earned them the Principal’s Award for the best Research Publication for the Faculty of Medical Sciences in 2009. In 2013 the team of Drs. Wynter, Christie, Dacosta and Harriott received the John J. Sciarra award from the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FIGO) for their publication on Low Cost Fertility Management in Low Resource Regions. Because of the vast array of clinical services provided by the Unit, many areas of research are ongoing. These include studies on Adenomyosis, Male Factor Fertility and Environmental Factors and developmental studies on IVF babies.

Programme evaluations also have been conducted on the delivery and curriculum for health and family life education, breastfeeding, adolescent drug use, interventions to improve the sexual and reproductive health knowledge and behavior of adolescents and the use of the partograph in selected hospitals in Jamaica. These research findings have contributed to the development and/or modification of activities to increase and improve their effectiveness in attaining specific policy and programme goals.

The Unit’s strategic plan focuses on expanding the research agenda, both clinical and non-clinical, to make the operations more evidence-based to improve the quality of reproductive health services to realize national and international goals.