An examination of the Health Status and Healthcare Seeking Behaviour of Public Taxi Drivers in Jamaica during the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) Pandemic

लेखक

  • Paul Andrew Bourne Acting Director of Institutional Research, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, W.I.
  • Kemone Allen Department of Nursing, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
  • Stacyann Morgan Department of Nursing, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
  • Laurel Thompson Department of Nursing, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
  • Shanice Vernon Department of Nursing, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
  • James Fallah Department of Dental Hygiene, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
  • Calvin Campbell Department of Mathematics and Engineering, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
  • Clifton Foster Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.
  • Caroline McLean Department of Nursing, Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, WI.

सार

Background: At the start of the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, the first reported case in Jamaica was on March 10, 2020. Since the arrival of COVID-19, many sectors of society like taxi operators have been adversely affected.

Objective: This research aimed to determine the health status and health-seeking behaviour of public taxi operators in Jamaica during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A non-probability sampling cross-sectional study was used for this study by way of a standardized questionnaire. The questions were created in Google Forms and distributed to 501 participants from the 14 parishes in Jamaica. The quantitative data conversion occurred using IBM Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Mac, version 27.0.

Results: The current study showed that 65.10% (n=326) of respondents deemed it necessary to seek health care during the pandemic. However, 53.70% (269) of respondents did not have health insurance. Furthermore, asthma (a respiratory illness), 13.40% (67), was the highest percentage for non-communicable diseases, while 25.70% (129) of respondents are unaware of their health condition. To better manage their health status, 62.10% (311) of respondents mentioned that they and their passengers wear a face mask; in contrast, 34.1% (171) have not yet decided on a strategic measure to improve their health. In addition, 63.5% (318) respondents visit a Medical Practitioner only when they are ill. Thus, the model of health-seeking behaviour is a significant one (χ2=5.871) P<0.209) with the prediction that most taxi drivers' general health status is in good shape, and this has no correlation gender.

Conclusions: The need for health promotion is vital, and the research results suggest that taxi drivers realize that their health is their responsibility. With more significant efforts and better health promotion, taxi operators' health status will remain stable as they seek optimum health.

##submission.downloads##

प्रकाशित

2021-09-06

अंक

खंड 5 No. 1 (2021): International Journal of Recent Advances in Psychology & Psychotherapy

खंड

Articles