Self-rated health and health conditions of married and unmarried men in Jamaica

BACKGROUND: Since 1988, when Jamaica began collecting data on the living conditions of its people, men have reported seeking less health care than women. Despite this fact, the group has never been studied by researchers. The same is true about the health status of married and non-married men. OBJECTIVES: The current study will 1) evaluate the changing epidemiological patterns of diseases affecting men in Jamaica; 2) determine factors that correlate with good health status of men; 3) compare and contrast the differences in health status of men, in particular marital status; and 4) determine which marital status has the greater health status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data for this research were taken from two secondary cross-sectional surveys. A sample of 8,078 respondents 15 years and older was extracted from the 2002 survey (n=25,018 respondents) and 2,224 respondents from the 2007 sample (n=6,783 respondents). SPSS for Windows 16.0 was used to store, retrieve and analyse the data. Chi-square, analysis of variance, t-test and logistic regression were used in this paper. RESULTS: Married men are more likely to report an illness than never married (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.45-1.95), separated, divorced or widowed men (OR = 2.62, 95% CI = 2.06-3.33). No significant statistical difference existed between the self-rated health status of married and unmarried men. CONCLUSION: This study provides a platform upon which future studies can commence as we begin to examine men's health in Jamaica.