Publications by authors named "Uki Atkinson"

Introduction: Comprehensive local data on adolescent health are often lacking, particularly in lower resource settings. Furthermore, there are knowledge gaps around which interventions are effective to support healthy behaviours. This study generates health information for students from cities in four middle-income countries to plan, implement and subsequently evaluate a package of interventions to improve health outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify latent classes of polysubstance use among adolescents in Jamaica and the role of neighborhood factors in the association with polysubstance use class membership.

Methods: This secondary analysis utilized a national cross-sectional household drug use survey conducted across 357 households in Jamaica (April 2016-July 2016) among a total of 4,625 individuals. A total of 750 adolescents (11-17 years) were included in this analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The purpose of this study was to evaluate gender-specific differences in prevalence and risk factors for alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among 50- to 65-year-old Jamaicans. We performed secondary analysis of the 2016 Jamaica National Drug Use Prevalence Survey. The dependent variables were self-reported use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana in the 30 days before the survey.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The purpose of the study was to examine the role of objective and subjective measures of neighborhood crime and disorder on substance use among a nationally representative sample of 4525 Jamaicans aged 12-65 years. Log-Poisson models with generalized estimating equations were used to estimate relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). A test of interaction was used to determine presence of effect modification by sex.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rigorous HIV-related data for the homeless population in Jamaica is limited. A cross-sectional survey using a venue-based sampling approach was conducted in 2015 to derive HIV prevalence and associated risk factors. Three hundred twenty-three homeless persons from the parishes of St.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

As part of a multinational program of research, we undertook a community-based participatory research project in Jamaica to strengthen nurses' engagement in HIV and AIDS policy. Three leadership hubs were purposefully convened and included small groups of people (6-10) from diverse HIV and AIDS stakeholder groups in Jamaica: frontline nurses and nurse managers in primary and secondary care settings; researchers; health care decision makers; and other community members. People living with HIV or AIDS were among the hub members.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF