Jamaica: migrant health guide
Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients from Jamaica for healthcare practitioners.
Main messages
If the patient is new to the UK:
- explain to them how the NHS works and their entitlements to healthcare
- discuss how this compares to the healthcare system they’ve been used to
- follow guidance on how to comprehensively assess new migrant patients
- ensure that they are up-to-date with the UK immunisation schedule
- ask about any travel plans the patient may have to visit friends and relatives in their country of origin
Offer and recommend an HIV test to all adults. Consider offering an HIV test to infants and children who have recently arrived in the UK.
Offer all sexually active individuals:
- a full sexual health screen
- safer sex health promotion advice
The prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is high.
Due to an intermediate prevalence, consider screening for hepatitis B, particularly among those who have recently arrived.
There is a risk of typhoid infection.
Consider nutritional and metabolic concerns.
Infectious diseases
Immunisation
Ensure that all patients, especially children, are up-to-date with the UK immunisation schedule.
Tuberculosis (TB)
There is a low incidence of TB (less than 40 cases per 100,000), so:
- routine screening for TB is not required
- consider testing in patients (including children) who show signs and symptoms
- be aware that TB is a notifiable disease
Sexually transmitted infections and HIV
There is a high rate of HIV (greater than 1%), so:
- offer and recommend an HIV test to all adults according to UK national testing guidelines.
- consider offering an HIV test to infants and children who have recently arrived in the UK according to UK national testing guidelines for this age group
Although recent global data on STIs are not available, countries with high HIV rates tend to have higher rates of STIs, and the range of STIs encountered may vary from those in the UK. Offer sexually active individuals:
- a full sexual health screen
- safer sex health promotion advice by referral to local genito-urinary medicine services.
Hepatitis B
There is an intermediate prevalence of hepatitis B, so:
- consider screening for hepatitis B, particularly those who have recently arrived
- offer screening for hepatitis B to all pregnant women during each pregnancy
- appropriately immunise babies born to mothers who are hepatitis B positive and follow up accordingly
- be aware that the UK has a a universal infant immunisation programme for hepatitis B and a selective immunisation programme for higher risk groups
Hepatitis C
The prevalence of hepatitis C is higher than the UK, so consider screening for hepatitis C if other risk factors apply.
Typhoid
There is a risk of typhoid infection, so:
- ensure that travellers are offered typhoid immunisation and advice on prevention of enteric fever
- remember enteric fever in the differential diagnosis of illness in patients with a recent history of travel to or from this country
Travel plans and advice
Ask opportunistically about any travel plans the patient may have to visit friends and relatives in their country of origin. People who travel to visit friends and relatives (VFR travellers) should visit the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for overseas travel advice and National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) for country specific travel advice prior to leaving the UK.
Women’s health
Reproductive health indicators in the UK and Jamaica
| Reproductive health indicator | UK | Jamaica |
|---|---|---|
| Number of children per woman [lifetime average] | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| Use of contraception [by woman of reproductive age or partner] | 71.7% | 72.5% |
Find out more about women’s health.
Nutritional and metabolic concerns
Anaemia
There is a moderate risk of anaemia in adults (estimated prevalence in non-pregnant women is 20 to 40%) and in pre-school children (estimated prevalence is 20 to 40%) in Jamaica. You should:
- be alert to this possibility in recently arrived migrants, particularly women and pre-school children
- test as clinically indicated
Vitamin D
Consider the possibility of vitamin D deficiency in people who may be at risk due to:
- darker skin
- not spending much time outdoors
- covering up most of their skin when outdoors
Vitamin A
There is a high risk of vitamin A deficiency.
Country profile
Health indicators and health care
WHO Global Health Observatory has a summary of health indicators and health care in Jamaica.
Culture, politics and history
BBC News and The World Factbook provide background information on the culture, politics and history of Jamaica.
Languages
The main languages used in Jamaica are:
- English
- English patois
Source: The World Factbook
Find out about language interpreting.
Religions
Table: religions in Jamaica
| Religion | Population (%) (2011 estimates) |
|---|---|
| Protestant (includes: Seventh Day Adventist 12%, Pentecostal 11%, Other Church of God 9.2%, New Testament Church of God 7.2%, Baptist 6.7%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.5%, Anglican 2.8%, United Church 2.1%, Methodist 1.6%, Revived 1.4%, Brethren 0.9%, and Moravian 0.7%) | 64.8 |
| None | 21.3 |
| Other | 6.5 |
| Unspecified | 2.3 |
| Roman Catholic | 2.2 |
| Jehovah’s Witness | 1.9 |
| Rastafarian | 1.1 |
Source: The World Factbook
Migration to the UK
There were over 142,000 people from Jamaica living in England and Wales at the time of the 2021 Census.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Updates to this page
Published 31 July 2014Last updated 12 April 2023 + show all updates
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Updated the vitamin D deficiency risk groups and migration to UK statistics.
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Updated advice on testing for anaemia, based on current prevalence in Jamaica.
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First published.