HEALTH PROMOTION AND PROTECTION

Why Is Oral Health Important?

Oral health is essential to overall health. Good oral health improves a person's ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow, and make facial expressions to show feelings and emotions.

However, oral diseases can range from cavities to oral cancer, cause significant pain and disability for many Jamaicans.

Oral diseases and conditions include:

• Tooth decay- cavities
• Gum diseases
• Cleft lip and palate
• Mouth and facial pain
• Mouth and throat cancers
• Dry mouth

Jamaica Moves is one of the strategies used by the Ministry of Health & Wellness to address the increase in number of persons who are getting Non-communicable Diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes (sugar) and some cancers. This strategy is employed in Schools, workplaces and community and puts emphasis on the promotion of physical activity, proper nutrition and age appropriate and routine health checks. The Heath Education and Promotion Officers spearheaded the execution of the implementation of theses interventions.

In Community

• Home visits-for delinquent patients, monitoring compliance with medication and other prescribed therapies.
• Mobile Team Activities-Teams visit and treat patients at home and on the streets
• Health Promotion/Education-to groups(church school, social groups, Health Fairs, Health groups
• Rehabilitation Services.(eg Brown's Town HC- games ,craft)
• Forensic Services
• In Outpatient Department Clinics, health centres and lock-ups at police stations
• Services include: assessment, treatment, providing report/recommendation to Resident Magistrates' Courts on 'fitness to plea' and other medico-legal issues.

Services are offered at 35 sites:

4 General Hospitals ( 1 in St Ann, 2 in St Mary, 1 in Portland)

• 1Community Hospital (Alexandria-St Ann)
• 3 Infirmaries (1 in each parish)
• 2 Community Residential Facility for people with special needs: (Jacob's Ladder in St Ann is operated by the Catholic church) and the Portland Rehabilitation Centre.
• 25 Health Centres

Psychological Intervention (Counselling)

Psychological intervention refers to the non-pharmacological (not including medications) approach to help clients and families develop social, emotional and intellectual skills

1. Psychotherapy helps clients to learn how factors such as their: mood, thoughts, behavior influence their lives. It also teaches to re-structure your thought process, response to stress and other challenges.
2. Psycho-education teaches clients about the nature of their Illness, their treatment and encourages them to compliance with medication and any other instructions which are given to them.
3. Social skill training includes educating or re-educating clients on subjects such as etiquette, budgeting, communication, courtesy skills, conflict resolution and meal planning.
4. Grooming, Assessment, Feeding and Treatment Programme (GAFT-P)
5. Mentally ill persons are assisted to meet their needs at home.
6. Those who live on the street have these needs met at periodic intervals when they are transported to select treatment centres.
7. GAFT services are provided by a team of mental health workers, members of a faith-based organization, the Community Outreach Arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and staff from a private ambulance service. The latter is provided on a voluntary basis
8. Patients also treated on streets GAF-T services are provided in all three parishes.
9. Assistance with cleaning of houses and yard space of clients,
10. The Mental Health Team also assists in conducting minor repairs to houses on special work days selected by the mental health team in each parish.
11. Partnership with governmental and non-governmental Organizations (NGO) regarding provision of food, clothing, shoes, furniture and building material for needy clients,
12. Care giver support groups assist clients to share success stories, positive ideas, friendship and gain support to deal with feelings of frustration and other challenges.
13. Referrals-Clients referred to other agencies with a view to assist client to receive services which they are more competent to provide.
14. In Emergency Visits/Crisis calls -24 hours in all parishes

Tips to Grow Emotionally Smart Children

• Teach Them to Know And Understand Feelings
• Teach them to name feelings e.g.:
• Afraid, Sad, Excited, Confused, Happy, Worried, Hurt, Angry
• Teach them about opposite feelings:
• Happy vs Sad; Content vs Angry
• Teach them about similar feelings: Happy and Content; 'Mad' and Angry
• Teach them to understand other people's feelings.
• Teach Them To Manage Feelings
• Teach them to trust their feelings.
  E.g.: "I am not comfortable staying with Aunt Mary because I don't like how Bobby looks at me."
• Establish house rules.
  E.g.: "You cannot watch TV during the school week".
• Give them chores to develop a sense of responsibility.
  E. g:"Every week end your job will be to sweep the yard and wash your socks".
• Teach them not to take revenge.
  E.g.: "Stop hitting me or I'm going to tell daddy".
• Allow them to make small choices, so that they will know how to make bigger decisions.
  E.g.: "Which shoe do you want to wear today?"

Benefits of Good Nutrition

• Enjoy a happy and healthy lifestyle.
• Builds and boost immunity and healthy development,
• Protects the human body against disease and infection
• Maintain healthy body weight.
• Enriches life with food variety
• Improves emotional health and general feeling of wellbeing
• Eating food from all the food groups provides all the nourishment that the body needs

Regional Nutritional Programme

Main Objectives

• Health and Development Objective: To promote the importance of nutritional needs throughout the life course of the populace and to tackle nutrition transition problems at regional and parish levels.
• Nutritional Deficiencies Objective: To reduce nutritional deficiencies through prevention and treatment strategies.
• Nutrition-related Chronic Diseases Objective: To promote the adoption of healthy dietary habits, active lifestyles, the control of obesity- and nutrition-related chronic diseases.

Schedule of Services

Health Centres

Resources For Users

• Food Based dietary Guidelines for Jamaica
• BMI Calculator
• Calorie Calculator
• Setting up a Baby Friendly Space in Your Workplace
• 10 Steps to successful breastfeeding
• Weblinks

10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding

1a. Comply fully with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and relevant World Health Assembly resolutions.

1b. Have a written infant feeding policy that is routinely communicated to staff and parents.

1c. Establish ongoing monitoring and data-management systems.

2. Ensure that staff have sufficient knowledge, competence and skills to support breastfeeding.

3. Discuss the importance and management of breastfeeding with pregnant women and their families.

4. Facilitate immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact and support mothers to initiate breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth.

5. Support mothers to initiate and maintain breastfeeding and manage common difficulties.

6. Do not provide breastfed newborns any food or fluids other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.

7. Enable mothers and their infants to remain together and to practise rooming-in 24 hours a day.

8. Support mothers to recognize and respond to their infants’ cues for feeding.

9. Counsel mothers on the use and risks of feeding bottles, teats and pacifiers.

10. Coordinate discharge so that parents and their infants have timely access to ongoing support and care.