The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) has launched an Anti-Vaping Campaign in Westmoreland, to help combat the increased use of electronic cigarettes among youth in the parish. The initiative, which began with a public education session on Monday (May 29) at the Westmoreland Justice Centre in Savanna-la-Mar, is expected to last for between six months and a year. It...

Head of the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona, Professor Wendel Abel, addresses the Child Protection and Family Services Agency’s (CPFSA) mental health lecture at the UWI Regional Headquarters in St. Andrew on May 31. The lecture provided therapeutic interventions in response to children in State care who are experiencing childhood trauma. The...

Students from several institutions in western Jamaica benefited from a child and adolescent mental health playday, held at Harmony Beach Park in Montego Bay, St. James, on Tuesday, May 30. The event was hosted by the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), in celebration of Child Month, to emphasise the positive effects of play on a child’s growth and development. Students...

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has created a physician workforce document, that will provide the framework for the engagement of more doctors in both primary and secondary care. This is in keeping with the country’s efforts to achieve Goal Number 3.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which is to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), including financial risk protection, access...

Two new programmes designed to enhance health promotion in Jamaica through education and screening are slated for rollout this year. The initiatives, to be spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, were announced by Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, while addressing the recent 35th Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Tufton explained that the engagements...

The Health Promotion and Education Unit at the Westmoreland Public Health Department is ramping up its dengue fever sensitisation thrust in the parish. This, according to Health Promotion and Education Officer, Gerald Miller, who told JIS News that the Department will be increasing its efforts to educate citizens about preventing the virus. “So, we are going to be using the...

Nearly 6,000 persons in four western parishes received free blood pressure checks on Wednesday (May 17), far exceeding the 4,000-target set for World Hypertension Day. Regional Non-Communicable Disease Coordinator, Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Dr. Marcia Johnson Campbell, told JIS News that all parishes, except Trelawny, surpassed their targets. A breakdown of the figures shows that in St. James, 2,133...