jamaican culture research paper

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Jamaica: Online sources for research in arts, history, and culture

Kai Alexis Smith

The population in the United States is changing. According to the Pew Research Center the nation’s Hispanic population has grown 57% since 2000. This diversity is reflected in academia. As a result, there is increasing interest in Latin American and Caribbean art, history, and culture. This introductory guide is one of several sources preparing librarians to support scholars in non-Western areas.

A product of Western influence within the larger African diaspora, Jamaican art is grouped within non-Western art tradition and exists under the umbrella of Latin American art. Like many of the Caribbean islands, Jamaica is a popular tourist destination. However Jamaican art provides a window into the often turbulent history of the country that many tourists don’t see.

There are a number of websites that shed light on Jamaican art, history, and culture. While not comprehensive, this guide identifies museums and collections in the United States and the Caribbean, and spotlights a number of resources that provide primary and secondary resources to support research into the country, such as histories, images, and maps.

To understand this rich and vibrant history, researchers may wish to focus on three areas: review the primary documents and map of the three landmark events in Jamaican history: the Sam Shepard Rebellion/Baptist War, the Morant Bay Rebellion, and the Labour Riots; peruse the images of the artifacts from the Taínos, the native people that inhabited the island before Europeans; and learn the definitions and history behind the Jamaican language, Patwah.

Encyclopedia and dictionary

• Jamaican Patwah. While Jamaicans write in English, many speak Jamaican Patwah or Jamaican Creole, an English-based language with West African influence brought over by 17th-century slaves to Jamaica. There are many print dictionaries, but this crowd-sourced online dictionary can help one begin to understand the spoken word, complete with slang terms, proverbs, idioms, jargon, and figurative usages. This site has audio pronunciations, and the identified word is used in a sentence in Patwah accompanied by English translation. Access: http://www.jamaicanpatwah.com .
• Wikipedia. This openly editable online encyclopedia is updated regularly and has a staff of editors that check articles for verification. Wikipedia boasts more than 82,000 contributors on more than 38,000,000 articles in 290 languages. Entries on Jamaica, Jamaican culture, and Jamaican art are robust and provide a wealth of information on the art and culture of the island. Access: https://www.wikipedia.org/ .
• Jamaican National Heritage Trust. Committed to sharing and protecting the island’s cultural heritage, this government resource provides descriptive historical narratives of Jamaican history from the Pre-Columbian, Columbian/Spanish, English, and Independence periods. An account of how the government is set up helps to provide a framework for understanding the political issues represented in many Jamaican artists’ works. Basic PDFs inform researchers of the Taíno origins, religion, society, and way of life. Fast facts about the geography, people, and political parties are provided that give a broad overview of Jamaica. In addition, several articles discuss the influences on Jamaican folk tradition, the differences between the Arawak and Taíno, and the importance of caves to the culture, including a list of petroglyph and pictographic sites. Access: http://www.jnht.com/ .
• Museum of History and Ethnography, Institute of Jamaica. With more than 17,000 historic, ethnographic, and archaeological artifacts, this authoritative website is the repository for Jamaica’s National Collection. Within the collection are artifacts from the Taíno culture. While only a handful of the collection is online, it does pair images of objects with brief narratives explaining their significance. A sampling of other collections are also featured on the website. Access: http://museums-ioj.org.jm/?p=2957 .
• The National Library of Jamaica. The library has a number of databases, including the Jamaican Personalities database, Jamaican proverbs, and the free online digital archive. This digital collection combines books, pamphlets, government documents, maps, prints, and photographs related to three landmark events in Jamaica’s history: the Sam Sharpe Rebellion/Baptist War (1831), the Morant Bay Rebellion (1865), and the Labour Riots (1938). The scanned documents and images provided in these collections are not high quality, but are sufficient to read. In addition, monthly usage statistics are offered, dating back to 2009. Access: http://www.nlj.gov.jm/ .

• Government of Jamaica Statistics. This government website provides statistics on population, the economy, labor market and earnings, the environment, and more. Data visualization is available for 2001 data, and newer data can be ordered from the Geographic Services Unit. Access: http://statinja.gov.jm/ .
• United States Census Bureau Foreign Trade in Goods with Jamaica. The U.S. government keeps track of current monthly imports and exports between the countries dating back to 1985. Access: https://www. census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c2410.html .

Periodicals and journals

• African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica (IOJ)’s Jamaica Memory Bank Publications. As early as the 1970s, this IOJ unit was responsible for documenting and sharing information on the impact and presence of the African diaspora in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean. While the publications can not be accessed on the official website, the link leads you to the list of publications that can be found through WorldCat. Access: https://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=African+Caribbean+Institute+of+Jamaica .
• ARC Magazine. Artists Nadia Huggins and Holly Bynoe publish this biennial Caribbean arts culture magazine. While this periodical is still in its infancy, it features works from the emerging and established artist. Access: http://arcthemagazine.com/arc/home/ .
• Institute of Jamaica’s Jamaica Journal. This academic journal is published quarterly and produces scholarly articles on art, history, music, and Jamaican culture. Access: http://209.238.103.104/~jj/ioj_wp/ .
• The Gleaner. Founded in 1843, this Jamaican-based newspaper provides the latest happenings in the country six days a week. There is a Sunday version of the paper called the Sunday Gleaner. Aside from Jamaica, it is published in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Access: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/ .
• Jamaica Observer. This daily news outlet was created as a competitor to The Gleaner in 1993. This resource provides news from a different perspective than its competitor. Access: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/ .
• Black Studies Center. This monthly updated, cross-searchable database combines Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, International Index of Black Periodicals, and the Chicago Defender newspaper. The scope ranges from 1827 to the present and offers full text of scholarly essays, magazines, and historical newspapers. This is a subscription-only resource. Access: http://bsc.chadwyck.com/ .
• Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI). HAPI, is an authoritative source for international information on Central and South America, Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean basin, the United States-Mexico border region, and Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. The database contains complete bibliographic citations to articles, book reviews (through 2001), documents, original literary works, and other materials. Regularly updated, HAPI contains more than 300,000 citations. Subject searching must be done in English, however, there is a feature that translates subject headings into Spanish or Portuguese. The collection starts in 1970. While all sources don’t have full text links, many do. It is a wonderful resource to update oneself on the history of the Caribbean and Jamaica through journals and periodicals. The citations provide a good entry research. This is a subscription-only resource. Access: http://hapi.ucla.edu/ .

Museums and galleries

• Harmony Hall Gallery. Located in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, this gallery has been a hub for contemporary local (intuitive) and international artists since 1980. Most artists concentrate in the medium of painting and fiber arts. Artist biographies are brief and focus on education and awards, but images accompany each entry along with links to the artist’s website, if available. All images featured on the website are also for sale. Access: http://www.harmonyhall.com/Gallery/artists.php .

• The Mutual Life Gallery. Established in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1975, this gallery promoted contemporary Jamaican artists on the island and internationally. The website provides entries on select artists. Included are biographies focused on education, career accomplishments, artists’ statements, and some exhibition lists. The gallery closed in 2013, but the pages can be viewed on the Wayback Machine website. Access: http://web.archive.org/web/20131025165801/ and http://www.mutualgallery.com/ .
• National Gallery of Jamaica. Since 1974, the National Gallery of Jamaica has been the main public repository of early, modern, and contemporary Jamaican art along with smaller Caribbean and international holdings. It is the largest public art gallery in the Anglo Caribbean region. While their collections are not online, the blog is very active with current events, exhibitions, and even videos of artists’ lectures. Access: http://natgalja.org.jm/ .
• Pan American Arts Project. A Miami-based gallery created the Pan American Arts Project, which promotes international artists of distinction with a focus on art from Europe and the Americas. Users can search by country and alphabetically. More than 30 Jamaican artists are shown, most displaying a biography, exhibitions and awards, and a sampling of their work. Access: http://panamericanart.com/ .

Arts web resources

• Art Jamaica. Enthusiastic collector Theresa Roberts displays her vast collection of Jamaican artists’ work with the goal of promoting Jamaican artists internationally. The images are of sufficient resolution for online viewing. An important feature of this collection is that all of the exhibition catalogs from Art Jamaica shows have been scanned and uploaded to the website for viewing. A video about the organization’s exhibition at the Murray Edwards College in Cambridge, England, talks about the importance of Jamaican artists women. This website can also be read in Spanish. Access: http://www.art-jamaica.org/ .
• Black Circle Gallery. Also founded by the longtime supporter of Jamaican arts Theresa Roberts, this gallery shows artists from other countries underrepresented in Europe. The sleek website features artists biographies with a small selection of the images by the artists. Click on the thumbnail for larger images. Access: http://blackcirclegallery.com/ .

• Petrine Archer-Straw. This authoritative blog was written by Caribbean art historian Petrine Archer-Straw, who passed away in 2012. It includes her biography, honors, and awards, but the most interesting part of her website is the Diaspora Dialogs blog where she critiqued and discussed both historical and modern topics in Caribbean art history. While the Caribbean Artist A–Z write ups merely give the researcher a taste of the artist’s concepts and education, the database is extensive and includes over a hundred artists. Some entries include links to view featured images of the artist’s work. Access: http://www.petrinearcher.com/ .
• University of Florida’s About Face: Revisiting Jamaica’s First Exhibition in Europe. This digital collection at the University of Florida provides primary sources of the first Jamaican art exhibit in Europe. One may learn about the participating artists, view the exhibition catalog, and read reviews. Also, information about pop culture provides additional historical context for researchers. Access: http://exhibits.uflib.ufl.edu/aboutface/ .

Online databases

• Digital Library of the Caribbean. A collaborative effort between multiple international institutions in the United States, South America, and the Caribbean, this free digital library provides the user access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical, and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections in multiple languages. Collections of interest are the dLOC: Caribbean Map Collection and the Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library. Access: http://www.dloc.com/ .
• The Getty Research Institute’s Union List of Artist Names. This free structured vocabulary database makes searching artists, including Jamaican artists, incredibly easy. This annually updated hierarchical database is set up in list form and like a thesaurus. This database lists not only biographical information about artists, but includes lists of people related to them (spouses, children, and teachers), and links to records of those people, links to information on the cities where the artist was born and died, and sources and contributions. Access: http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/ulan/ .

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Research Paper On Jamaican Culture

Type of paper: Research Paper

Topic: Slavery , Song , Caribbean , Population , Music , Culture , Diversity , England

Words: 1200

Published: 12/08/2019

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Jamaica is a country located in the Caribbean Island which was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494(Wilson, 2004, p.6). The country enjoys a diverse population of about 2.9 million people. This country is known by many a cultural hub of the culture of Rastafarianism, named after King Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and the art of reggae music. However, the richness of the Jamaica moves from the mere notion of Rastafarianism and the art of reggae music. This paper intends to support the fact that the Jamaican culture is rich in diverse by exploring the heritage, history, food and other fundamental facets of the Jamaican culture. The Jamaican population traces different backgrounds and histories. The country’s social topography is composed of people of African descent, Europeans, Chinese, Indians and other minority groups. The fact that people of African descent are the majority within the social framework of the Jamaican culture has created a culture that borrows heavily from the African way of life. British colonization of this Caribbean Island has also influenced the characteristics of the Jamaican culture. Most of the British way of life is widely accepted within the Jamaican culture. The Jamaican language of communication is derived from the English of the British who colonized the country. However, the kind of English language spoken in Jamaican has undergone a mode of language syncretism in that the English language employs some indigenous accents and words in to the Jamaican popular speech. Scholars argue that the English language has been considered as being an official mode of communication in Jamaica for over three hundred years. The most important facet of the Jamaican culture is the evidence of historical traits in their religious belief systems and in entertainment. The influence of the African culture is evident in the Jamaican religion and art of the reggae music. Most of the substance within the music mostly focuses on the need for unity among the people due to the fact that their ancestors went through suffering as slaves from the African continent in the hands of British colonialists. The music also talks about the roots of the African people which remind current generation of the long way that the people of Jamaica have come before experiencing the peace that they enjoy in the country today. This culture of reggae songs can be traced back in the days of slavery. The songs were used during slavery as a mode of communication that was not understandable by the colonialists. The songs were also used to give the slaves hope that one the afflictions that befell them in the hands of the British would once come to an end (Richards, 2008, p.76). In the midst of the diversity of the Jamaican culture, one can draw a line between the tradition and modernity of the culture. For instance, reggae songs that were sang in the late 19th century focused on praise of nationalistic leaders who fought for the freedom of Jamaica. However the content of the reggae music today mostly looks at contemporary issues that are facing the society today like abortion and gay marriage. Though the Jamaican culture has been highly influenced by the African majority in Jamaica, there are native tribes that occupied Jamaica before the arrival of African slaves. The native people in Jamaica were the Arwark’s. Some of the aspects of native culture that are evident within the broader Jamaican culture include proverbs, oral poems, and songs. This is an indicator than the native people of Jamaican are also considered as being a great contribution to the richness of the popular Jamaican culture The Jamaican culture is also highly influenced by Jamaica’s economy. Marijuana production is an important facet in the Jamaica’s economy. Though Marijuana is illegal in many countries across the world, its consumption is not illegal in Jamaica. This has had adverse effects to the youth of Jamaica in that they are exposed to drug abuse at a tender age. However, Jamaican is also known for the production of vegetables and fruits. Fruit production in Jamaica is favored by the fact that Jamaica is located in the tropics. Therefore, tropical fruits are a great part of Jamaican culture. Other kinds of foods that are popular within the Jamaican culture include bananas and yams. Some of the best known soups that are associated with the Jamaican culture include Mannish water which is believed to have a medicinal value against male and female infertility (Mordecai, 2001, p.49). Though the Jamaican culture enjoys stability, there has been a conflict between modernism and traditionalism. Elites within Jamaica have sometimes argued that some changes are essential in order to maintain the stability of the Jamaican culture and preserve the identity of the Jamaican people. One of the scholars who prescribed some changes within the Jamaican culture was Norman Manley. Manley played a key role in initiating a wider unity not only in Jamaica but in the entire Caribbean region. Manley proposed the formation of the Commonwealth of all Caribbean nations (Austin-Broos, 2007, p.65). This strategy was primarily to preserve some of the key facets within the Jamaican culture that were vulnerable to the changes in social dynamics. Some of the key areas that Manley succeeded to save include historical monuments and sites. In this way Manley was able maintain these facets of the Jamaican culture so that future generation can also enjoy these sites. The preservations of historical monuments and sites within Jamaica opened up Jamaica to technological research and scientific discovery. This is a clear indication that elites within Jamaica propose changes within the Jamaican culture with the aim of making sure that Jamaicans are not pre-occupied with short-time gains from economic activities like tourists who come to enjoy the beauty of their country and culture but to initiate a long term benefit of making sure that future generations get to see and enjoy the richness of the Jamaican culture that exists today. In conclusion, the Jamaica culture does not revolve just around the ideas of Rastafarianism and reggae music but is wide and diverse. This diversity is caused by the fact that Jamaica is multicultural nation whose population has different histories and ethnicities. Some of the characteristics of the Jamaican culture include the fact that English is the official language owing to the fact that the British colonized the country. In addition, the fact that Africans make up the majority of the Jamaican population, the Jamaican culture heavily borrows from the African culture. Finally Jamaica has indigenous foods like Mannish Water which is believed to have a medicinal value. This is a clear indication that there is an attachment between Jamaican culture and Jamaican resources.

Austin-Broos, D., J. (2007). Jamaica genesis: religion and the politics of moral orders. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Mordecai, M. (2001). Culture and Customs of Jamaica. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Inc.

Richards, G. (2002). Jamaica in slavery and freedom: history, heritage and Culture. Kingston, Jamaica: University of West Indies Press.

Wilson, A. (2004). Jamaica the Culture. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company.

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Influence of Jamaican Cultural and Religious Beliefs on Adherence to Pharmacotherapy for Non-Communicable Diseases: A Pharmacovigilance Perspective

Robyn brown.

1 Department of Sociology, Psychology, and Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica

Caryl James Bateman

Maxine gossell-williams.

2 Section of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica

Associated Data

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Materials, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Worldwide, socio-cultural determinants have been shown to influence the beliefs of patients about their health and decision making for treatment. This is consistent with the evidence that cultural and religious beliefs affect illness conceptualization and behaviors of Jamaican patients living with non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Despite these known socio-cultural influences, an acknowledgment of relevance of adherence to pharmacotherapy has been grossly understudied. Furthermore, while poor adherence to pharmacotherapy, especially in the management of patients living with non-communicable diseases is associated with adverse drug reactions; reporting of such information in the pharmacovigilance process is inadequate. We review previous studies on the cultural and religious beliefs within the Jamaican context that may contribute to poor adherence to pharmacotherapy, especially among those patients living with non-communicable diseases. We support the ongoing perspective that current pharmacovigilance processes need retooling with the inclusion of socio-cultural influences on adherence to pharmacotherapy.

Introduction

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent a significant portion of the global disease burden and are managed by lifelong pharmacotherapy. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NCDs disproportionally affect developing countries and among these patients, adherence to pharmacotherapy rates is less than fifty percent ( Sabaté, 2003 ). These challenges coupled with the limited resources to care for the health needs of its population increases the morbidity and mortality rates of NCDs in developing countries ( Rose et al., 2016 ). Developing countries, such as Jamaica, encounter unique challenges at the various levels of the healthcare system ( Figueroa et al., 1999 ; Wilks et al., 2001 ; Gossell-Williams et al., 2014 ; Hartzler et al., 2014 ; Mitchell-Fearon et al., 2015 ; Wilson et al., 2018 ). However, arguably and more important in impacting public health is having a health-conscious populace that is motivated to leverage the health system to the betterment of their overall well-being.

According to terminology agreed by European consensus, adherence to pharmacotherapy is defined as the process by which patients take their medications as prescribed ( Vrijens et al., 2012 ). A major contributor to adherence to pharmacotherapy is culture which is defined as a decision-making heuristic that can be found in values, beliefs, or social norms ( Nunn, 2012 ). More specifically, various sociocultural factors have been found to affect patient health behaviours, decision-making and health outcomes ( Oates et al., 2020 ), of which multidimensional factors, such as cultural and religious beliefs are among the most recognized ( Leporini et al., 2014 ). Hordern (2016) emphasized the need for physicians to understand and respect the significance of cultural and religious beliefs of patients, as they inform the manner of their engagement with recommended treatment.

The goal of this paper is to explore how these socio-cultural factors impact adherence to pharmacotherapy for common NCDs in Jamaica, as well as to highlight their potential role in the pharmacovigilance process. We highlight peer reviewed publications reporting adherence to pharmacotherapy in Jamaican patients with NCDs after 2003, the year of implementation of the National Health Fund, which subsidizes the cost of drugs to Jamaicans ( https://www.nhf.org.jm/images/pdfs/nhf_act_merged.pdf ). The available studies involving Jamaican patients with NCDs suggest their adherence to pharmacotherapy is poor, with concerns about adverse drug reactions, having to take the drugs consistently even when no symptoms are being experienced and the general inconvenience featuring prominently. ( Table 1 ) ( Duff et al., 2006 ; Chambers et al., 2008 ; Pusey-Murray et al., 2010 ; Mowatt, 2013 ; Gossell-Williams et al., 2014 ; Welsh et al., 2015 ; Bridgelal-Nagassar et al., 2016 ; Wilson et al., 2018 ; Adeniyi et al., 2021 ; Barrett-Brown et al., 2021 ).

Overview of the studies presenting measures of non-adherences among Jamaicans living with NCDs. For all studies the measure of adherence.

DM, diabetes mellitus; HTN, hypertension.

Beliefs About Illness

Beliefs as defined by Macionis (2015, p. 95) are “specific thoughts or ideas that people hold to be true”. Understanding patients’ health beliefs is imperative as research has consistently shown that this predicts their health behaviors, including adherence to pharmacotherapy ( Street and Haidet, 2011 ). Cultural beliefs relate to what is internalized to inform thinking and actions, while religious beliefs relate to beliefs in a social institution based on recognizing the sacred ( Macionis, 2015 ). These terms are not mutually exclusive, as religion may be considered a cultural system ( Bonney, 2004 ).

The way illness is conceptualized through a particular cultural lens has a direct impact on the kinds of actions taken in its management. Considering the diversity implicit within the Jamaican experience, it is difficult to define a cultural attitude towards pharmacological intervention which is all encompassing. However, insights have been offered to explain relevant ethnographic factors. Mitchell (1983) gave a comprehensive description of the ethnomedical landscape in Jamaica during the 1980s which is still relevant nearly 40 years later. The way in which Jamaicans conceptualize and treat diseases involve an emphasis on symptomatology and bodily-feeling ; there is a need to feel a “cure” working in the body to counteract a particular ill-effect and the elimination of symptoms through treatment signifies the elimination of the disease, regardless of whether it is chronic and incurable ( Mitchell, 1983 ). These perceptions have been corroborated in survey studies done amongst patients in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora living in the United Kingdom and the United States of America where poor adherence to pharmacotherapy was related to the practice of “leaving-off” pills, which was justified by the idea that illness exists only in the presence of symptoms ( Myfanwy and Watkins, 1988 ; Brown et al., 2007 ; Alhomoud et al., 2013 ; Smith, 2012 ; Gossell-Williams et al., 2014 ; Welsh et al., 2015 ).

Beliefs About Alternative Treatments

The desire to feel a cure working is one potential explanation for the cultural beliefs in herbal preparations observed throughout Jamaican society. Many herbal preparations, especially in the form of teas, elicit instantaneous bodily sensations, such as “warmth” or “bitterness.” For example, Cerasee tea (made from the plant Momordica charantia ) is viewed as an effective treatment for diabetes mellitus because of the perceived counteracting or balancing effect of the bitter taste ( Mitchell, 1983 ; Smith, 2012 ). It is important to explore not only whether herbal preparations are efficacious, but also the cultural cognitions that lead Jamaican’s to combat illness in a particular way. Sobo (1993) examined the health perspectives of impoverished rural Jamaicans and how they approach well-being. There was an emphasis on natural, easily accessible options with attention being paid most carefully to the balancing of the system through “washouts” and “purification” rather than taking prescription drugs.

Considering Jamaica’s extensive history of traditional knowledge systems ( Payne-Jackson and Alleyne, 2004 ; Seaga, 2005 ; Delgoda et al., 2010 ; Picking et al., 2019 ; Adeniyi et al., 2021 ; Bateman James, 2021 ), it is not surprising that Jamaicans from various backgrounds turn regularly to alternative treatments. Records of the 1866 Commission investigating the Morant Bay Rebellion highlight the long history of Jamaicans consulting physicians on current medicine, but then relying on alternative treatments ( Barima, 2016 ). Payne-Jackson and Alleyne (2004) in their 1991–1992 questionnaire-based survey of rural communities in Jamaica highlighted the involvement of physicians and alternative practitioners (e.g., bush-doctors, spiritual mothers and occult healers) in the treatment of illness, which inevitably leads to several treatment recommendations being used sequentially and simultaneously. This approach towards managing illness remains popular and thus the prescribed pharmacotherapy is often replaced or supplemented with alternative treatment options, popularly believed to be effective ( Mitchell, 1983 ; Gardner et al., 2000 ; Delgoda et al., 2004 ; Gossell-Williams et al., 2008 ; Delgoda et al., 2010 ; Picking et al., 2011 ; Welsh et al., 2015 ; Foster et al., 2017 ; Owusu et al., 2020 ; Adeniyi et al., 2021 ). Patient testimonials about the anti-cancer benefits of herbal preparations travel by word of mouth, reaffirming their perceived efficacy and swaying others towards their utilization. Owusu et al. (2020) found in a western Jamaican sample of patients with hypertension and type two diabetes mellitus that the motivation for an alternative treatment plan included the belief that it is the more natural choice, and the belief that it is beneficial to utilize pharmacological and herbal preparations concurrently.

In exploring the factors which contribute to the popularity of herbal preparations in Jamaica, especially for the treatment of cancer, Foster et al. (2017) found that 80% of patients surveyed used them, often without the knowledge of their oncologist. In a survey canvasing the level of herbal preparation use concomitantly with pharmacological interventions amongst Jamaicans in both urban and rural settings, Picking et al. (2011) found that 72.6% of respondents had used herbal preparations in the last 12 months. Additionally, of those who were using both forms of treatment simultaneously, only 19.4% shared this information with their physician ( Picking et al., 2011 ) corroborating the findings of Foster et al. (2017) . One reason cited for withholding the self-administering of herbal preparations is that the physician simply did not ask ( Picking et al., 2011 ; Smith 2012 ; Owusu et al., 2020 ). This presents a major concern about the risk of adverse drug reactions to concomitant users and reasons for this gap in patient-physician communication need to be explored.

Religious Beliefs About Illness and Pharmacotherapy

Several religions are practiced in Jamaica and although the influence of religious beliefs on illness and healing perception have been reviewed ( Sutherland et al., 2014 ), the relationship between religious beliefs and adherence to pharmacotherapy has been minimally explored. At an individual level, the influence of religion is highly subjective with some patients interpreting their healthcare provider’s recommendations as God’s way of helping them to help themselves, while others take a more fatalistic approach believing that their illness is God’s will and therefore how it unfolds is out of their hands ( Brown et al., 2007 ; Shahin et al., 2019 ; Smith, 2012 ; Hope et al., 2020 ). Taking this line of reasoning one step further, some highly religious patients may believe that their illness is a punishment from God for improper religious adherence and although they may respect their physician’s diagnosis and recommendations, their ultimate concern rests with the judgement of their higher power ( Rumun, 2014 ).

Chambers et al. (2008) explored the influence of Christianity among Jamaicans living with systemic lupus erythematosus; they found that several of the patients held a “strong belief in the possibility that they could be healed of lupus at any time” p.767. Amongst this cohort however these beliefs did not appear to hinder their adherence to pharmacotherapy. Anecdotal reports included the belief that healing was obtained at a crusade, leading to a patient ceasing to take their medication and their eventual death. Another patient reported finding prayer to be an effective way for them to relieve some of their pain and discomfort until they were able to replenish their medication ( Chambers et al., 2008 ).

A Role for Cultural and Religious Beliefs in the Pharmacovigilance Process

Jamaica, as a full member of the World Health Organization global database since 2012, collects individual case safety reports of adverse drug reactions following guidelines established by the International Conference on Harmonization (E2B (R3) Individual case Safety Report Specification and Related Files; https://www.ich.org/page/e2br3-individual-case-safety-report-icsr-specification-and-related-files ). This global pharmacovigilance database facilitates detection of possible adverse drug reactions; however, the processes of data analysis and whether there is adequate focus on patient safety has been questioned ( Edwards, 2017 ; Streefland, 2018 ; Ibrahim et al., 2021 ). According to Edwards (2017, p. 365) “We must develop a more holistic evaluation of suboptimal therapeutic outcomes, and do this without apportioning unnecessary blame”.

Recent systematic reviews and observational studies highlight the relevance of socio-cultural determinants on adherence to pharmacotherapy among patients living with NCDs ( Dhar et al., 2017 ; Niriayo et al., 2018 ; Swihart et al., 2018 ; Shahin et al., 2019 ; Al-Ganmi et al., 2020 ; Park et al., 2020 ; Raza et al., 2020 ; Świątoniowska-Lonc et al., 2021 ); however, the dearth of published literature suggests such awareness in pharmacovigilance processes is yet to be realized. Although poor adherence to pharmacotherapy is a common predictor of adverse drug reactions; the converse is also true ( Gellad et al., 2011 ; Adem et al., 2021 ; Elangwe et al., 2020 ) and therefore enriching pharmacovigilance processes with what is referred to as ‘the patient’s voice’ may facilitate causality analysis of adverse drug reactions ( Simon et al., 2020 ).

Cultural and religious beliefs have been shown to negatively impact adherence to pharmacotherapy in patients living with NCDs; despite this, current pharmacovigilance processes fail to give these beliefs much consideration in understanding poor adherence to pharmacotherapy, a known contributor to adverse drug reaction occurrences. Elaborating on the possible relationship between these factors and poor adherence to pharmacotherapy in the Jamaican context was the goal of this article, with several notable themes emerging. Among these were the cultural perception of illness as existing only in the presence of symptoms, and the importance of combating illness by targeting symptoms with treatments that one can feel acting in the body. Also featured were religious influences on the way patients make meaning of their experience of illness, along with the role they ascribe to physicians in facilitating their treatment.

Based on the empirical articles reviewed, the cultural and religious beliefs of Jamaicans about pharmacotherapy may be a significant contributor to poor adherence rates among patients living with NCDs. Adding this information is important in a comprehensive pharmacovigilance process, and future research should explore the optimization of adverse drug reaction reporting with patient data in these domains.

Data Availability Statement

Author contributions.

MG-W and RB conceived the study. RB led the sourcing of the relevant literature and worked with MG-W to analyse the literature. MG-W and RB worked together to complete the first draft of the article. CB reviewed the draft and made substantial intellectual contributions, including addition of personal work done on the topic. All subsequent drafts were reviewed by all authors, including the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Jamaican Family Cultural Practices Research Paper

Introduction, cultural practices and traditions, family dynamics and patterns, challenges and discussion, thoughts and opinions on their cultural practices.

The history of the Jamaicans in the United States began in 1619 when some blacks from Jamaica, as well as from the Caribbean islands migrated to the United States. It is during this time that 20 indentured workers arrived in Virginia (Parkins, 2011). Their arrival in the United States meant that they would live and work in the farms as free beings, even with the advent of the first slaves in 1629. Notably, Jamaica was a major station through which the slaves going to the United States, as well as other parts of North America, would be stationed and cleared before their final destination (Omi & Winant, 2010).

Thus, Jamaicans’ immigration into the United States was tied to the emancipation and slave trade. Later, the American colonies, as well as their European counterparts with large sugar plantations in the Caribbean started to import more Jamaican immigrants in 1838 as labor for their farms (Kent, 2007). As a result, most Jamaicans were recruited in the Costa Rican and Panama lands. However, after the abolition of slave trade in the United States, most farm owners started to hire temporary labor for their farms. The workers were referred to as swallow migrants, and their duty involved crop harvesting on a yearly basis. However, most of these people later returned to their homes after the harvest was done, though they were later recruited by the United States at the commencement of the World War I and II.

The Caribbean people were involved in forced, large-scale migration of slaves for many years. However, they began to voluntarily migrate to the United States at the beginning of 1990 due to the immigration reforms in the United States that happened in 1965, placing a new priority on family types of migrations (Parkins, 2011). Thus, many people from Jamaica started to migrate into the US. Presently, Caribbean immigrants moving into the United States as permanent residents gain admission based on their family ties. Notably, the 1.7 million Caribbean-born citizens in the United States represent nearly half of all the black immigrants in the country.

These people are also concentrated in the states of New York, Florida, New Jersey, and Georgia, among other states. The population of Jamaicans that has inhabited these states is 305,285 people, 256, 478 people, 55, 351, and 53, 603 respectively. As it is, most Jamaicans are concentrated in New York, owing to the residential reforms and open admission into the states’ City University (Parkins, 2011).

The Jamaican tradition describes the cultural practices of the people. The culture of the Jamaicans is unique, given that the people are ritualistic in nature (Reynolds, 2006). These rituals are usually performed during particular events and in several places. They help to define the Jamaicans’ culture due to the prevalence of the Jamaicans in the region. Mostly, such ritualistic events are held during public holidays, the Lent, and during the Christmas period. Other than observing religious rituals, the Jamaicans also perform traditional rituals such as the Nine Nights after the death of one their most revered family member.

Another aspect of the Jamaican culture is further reflected in their ways of dressing, as well as their artistic work. It is worth noting that the Jamaicans’ art is a continuous reminder of their day to day life (McKenzie, 2003). Notably, it is easy to identify their craft work, paintings, collage, and sculptures, as they are artistically inclined to reggae music, and its derivatives, which include the rock-steady and dancehall forms of music. The music is unique because it was invented by the Jamaicans. Also, their music enjoys massive airplay and support across the continents, with a growing huge following.

Another important cultural and traditional aspect of the Jamaican people is their religion. In fact, religion also plays a significant role in bringing the Jamaicans together, as they have come up with a way of worship that identifies them (Yildirim, 2013). The religion is called Pocomania, which is a mixture of practices of both the African religious traditions and Christianity. There is also another religion that is known as the Rastafarianism, one that is practiced by a few in the society (Manuel & Marshall, 2007).

In effect, Rastafarianism does not bring most of the Jamaicans together. Thus, there is a need to look at the religion and give it more amendments. Notably, the Jamaican people are profoundly religious. It is easy to know the importance of religion in the lives of the Jamaicans in their day to day way of speaking. A majority of Jamaican people are Christians, who comprise the Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, the Roman Catholics, and the Brethren. Their Christmas celebrations are frequently characterized by Christian songs, Communion services, all-night prayers, Candlelight ceremonies, and concerts.

The family dynamics of the Jamaican people are such that the extended family is tightly knit. Notably, most of the family members relate well with each other, offering one another both economic and emotional support. The Jamaicans believe that family is the most important group in a person’s life because family relationships help one to grow. In effect, the issue of trust among the people is paramount (Reynolds, 2006). Family members tend to trust their relatives and friends. This is notable in their behavior, as most of them would better form collaborative business partnerships with friends and families than go to the bank to get a loan (Barrow, 2008).

Further, most of the Jamaican people are African-Caribbean families. It is important to note that about 80-90 percent of families living in the Caribbean have an African background (Reynolds, 2006). Also, these natives came to occupy the region as a result of the slave trade that existed at the time. Most of the regions dominated by the natives include the Barbados, Jamaica, and other areas in the Caribbean Island. The African descent is still evident in the majority of the population living in Trinidad and Tobago and the Guyana, which is about half of the entire population.

The Jamaican ways of child rearing are also unique. Some aspects of their family life that characterize their child-rearing behaviors include frequently applied common-law union and a high incidence of absentee fathers (Brown & Johnson, 2008). The children are also subjected to child shifting, where a child is made to live with their relatives due to the conditions of their family. Thus, the children are forced to live with either parent or stay with their grandparents.

The Jamaican families are either Multifocal or Matricentric. However, the Jamaican fathers, are great providers for their families, even though absent from their kids’ life many times. Thus, the fathers ensure that their children have basic needs and are well taken care of in many aspects of their lives. Consequently, fathers play a great role in the upbringing of their families. The ability to provide economically and cater for one’s families’ is something that the Jamaican fathers have demonstrated adequately.

On the other hand, the emotional connection that the parents have with their children is not easy to point out. The University of West Indies has further proven that there is very minimal or no connection between a father and child emotionally. In effect, the children grow up with little regard for the families they bear; as it is not strange to have extramarital affairs as that most males are never around. Further, the children are also used to living in matriarchal dominated households (Chevannes, 2004).

Different forms of family set ups characterize the nature of the Jamaican families, consequently influencing their childbearing activities, lifestyle, and values. First is the common law union, where both parents stay together, but have not been joined legally. Second is the marital union, and the third is single parenting. Last is the visiting union, where the mother is still under the care of her parents. Ideally, the marital journey of Jamaican women begins from their first visit and transcends to common law, which later results in marriage. However, statistics show that most homes are headed by females, who represent about 30-50 percent of the total households (Spiers, Gundala, & Singh, 2014).

Resultantly, about 30% of the total child population grows under the guidance and care of their mothers. Only 60% of the children grow under the custody of both parents (Jokhan, 2007). Other children that are born in the later stages of life usually grow up under the care of both parents.

Both the culture and the political nature of the Jamaican people have experienced a tremendous transformation, following the influence of the African-Caribbean families living in the Caribbean region. One such factor is the introduction of reggae and calypso, which are reflected in the celebration of the Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago by the African-Caribbean families. Moreover, it is interesting to note that most of the politicians in the country are of the African descent (Roopnarine, Krishnakumar, Narine, Logie, & Lape, 2013). Consequently, there have been immense changes in the culture of the Jamaican people, as the infiltration of the African-Caribbean family increases.

The Jamaican population faces some difficulties. Notably, modern Jamaican parents are confronted with financial and immigration restrictions that make it hard for most families to migrate to the United States together. Inability to live together as one family unit means the proliferation of their Jamaican values. In fact, for immigration to commence, one spouse precedes the other by moving to the United States for many years before the entire family could finally arrive (Jokhan, 2007). Further, it is easier for the women to migrate to the United States compared to their male counterparts. Thus, when women relocate successfully, they immediately start to file for permanent residency so that they can bring their families to live with them. However, it takes long periods for one to become a permanent resident, usually about five to ten years.

However, following the long period of separation from their spouses, it is easier for the women to sever ties with their families back at home and begin a fresh life in the states. Notably, when women are migrating to the United States, they are forced to leave their children under the care of their grandparents, friends, or relatives. Such a life implies that the children are highly unattended and receive minimal supervision back at home (Bakker, Elings-Pels & Reis, 2011).

As a result, the children resort to moral vices like crime and substance abuse (Jokhan, 2007). Most of the children do not take the time to concentrate in school and those that still attend school end up being highly disruptive on the pretext that they would soon be migrating. Finally, when these kids join their immigrant parents in the United States, they are forced to remain on their own and are mostly unattended as the parent tries to find a means of survival of the family.

The result is that most of the families become highly dysfunctional, owing to the economic hardships and limited family time (Smith & Green, 2007). In fact, this situation is worse for Jamaicans holding blue collar jobs in their previous country. Their migration to the United States implies that they have to start life afresh, which is quite difficult for their young ones to understand. The situation is worsened by the poor treatment the children receive from both teachers and students in the schools they attend.

Secondly, this population, similar to other black Americans living in the United States, suffers a problem of discrimination in the job market. Illegal Jamaican aliens and immigrants to the United States are highly vulnerable to exploitation and injustice in the job market. They are characterized as unskilled labor due to their poor level of education and skills (Reynolds, 2006). Thus, the Jamaicans are forced to work for longer hours than usual or manage several part-time jobs to survive.

However, a considerable number of Jamaicans are successful entrepreneurs and businesspeople. For instance, most of the Jamaicans living in New York have gained considerable mileage as a result of their affirmative action on both jobs and housing in Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Bedford-Stuyvesant, among other places. Thus, most of them have also been able to take advantage of the opportunities at the University of New York to gain better skills and accelerate their positions in the labor market.

The ability of most Jamaicans to speak English places them in a position where they are not regarded as a cultural group among the people of the United States. As a result, they are mistaken for African-Americans whom they are mostly identified with, with the assumption that they share similar values and beliefs. However, the history and culture of the Jamaican people is very distinct. While the Jamaicans tend to be stereotyped as fun loving and happy individuals, they are very humorous and have a great liking for music and dance.

They are also hard workers, with a strong desire for better education. Given their history of slavery, the Jamaicans tend to distrust any established system that is instructive. Notably, slavery and poverty have profoundly impacted the family structure and gender responsibilities. The households end up being managed by women as most of the men go away to look for employment.

Through this evaluation, I feel that the Jamaican people are hard workers, with a culture that promotes the hard work. Both the men and the women work hard to sustain their families, even though fathers are mostly absent. The culture of provision without presence implies that the children are subjected to foster parenting under the grandparents, relatives, and their parents’ friends. The children, in turn, grow up as rebels, with minimal need to be responsible citizens. Thus, the culture is a detriment to the promotion of family values and proper child rearing.

Bakker, C., Elings-Pels, M., & Reis, M. (2011). The impact of migration on children in the Caribbean . Web.

Barrow, C., & Ince, M. (2008). Early childhood in the Caribbean . Working Papers in Early Childhood Development. Web.

Brown, J., & Johnson, S. (2008). Childrearing and child participation in Jamaican families. International Journal of Early Years Education , 16 (1), 31–40. Web.

Chevannes, B. (2004). Sexual practices and behaviour in Jamaica: a review of the literature. Washington, DC: AIDS Public Health Communication (AIDSCOM). Web.

Jokhan, M. (2007). Parental absence as a consequence of migration: exploring its origins and perpetuation with special reference to Trinidad . (Unpublished dissertation). University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. Web.

Kent, M. M. (2007). Immigration and America’s black population. Population Bulletin, 62 (4), 1-15. Web.

Manuel, P., & Marshall, W. (2007). The riddim method: aesthetics, practice, and ownership in Jamaican dancehall. Popular Music , 25 (3), 447-470. Web.

McKenzie, J. O. (2003). Jamaican ethnic dress: an evolution of cultures from post emancipation 1838 to independence 1962 . (Unpublished dissertation). University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, Wisconsin. Web.

Omi, M., & Winant, H. (2010). Racial formation in the United States . New York, NY: Routledge. Web.

Parkins, N. (2011). Push and pull factors of migration. American Review of Political Economy, 8 (2), 6-24. Web.

Reynolds, T. (2006). Caribbean families, social capital and young people’s diasporic identities. Ethnic and Racial Studies , 29 (6), 1087-1103. Web.

Roopnarine, J. L., Krishnakumar, A., Narine, L., Logie, C., & Lape, M. E. (2013). Relationships between parenting practices and preschoolers’ social skills in African, Indo, and mixed-ethnic families in Trinidad and Tobago the mediating role of ethnic socialization. Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45 (3), 362-380. Web.

Smith, D., E. & Green, K. E. (2007). Violence among youth in Jamaica: a growing public health risk and challenge. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública , 22 (6), 417-424. Web.

Spiers, S., Gundala, R. R., & Singh, M. (2014). Culture and consumer behavior—A study of Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica. International Journal of Marketing Studies , 6 (4), 92. Web.

Yildirim, E. D. (2013). Relationships between parenting styles, severity of punishment, importance of religion in child development and childhood social behaviors in Caribbean immigrant families . Web.

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"Jamaican Family Cultural Practices." IvyPanda , 1 July 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/jamaican-family-cultural-practices/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Jamaican Family Cultural Practices'. 1 July.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Jamaican Family Cultural Practices." July 1, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/jamaican-family-cultural-practices/.

1. IvyPanda . "Jamaican Family Cultural Practices." July 1, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/jamaican-family-cultural-practices/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Jamaican Family Cultural Practices." July 1, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/jamaican-family-cultural-practices/.

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