Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In nursing programmes, students are exposed to both theoretical and practical components. The main purpose of this study was to determine the academic performance of the nursing students in the clinical practice course during the... more
In nursing programmes, students are exposed to both theoretical and practical components. The main purpose of this study was to determine the academic performance of the nursing students in the clinical practice course during the 2017/2018 academic programme in a university in Jamaica. The study is also designed to investigate their perceptions of their clinical practice placement and to determine if there was a significant relationship between the students’ perceptions and their performance in the clinical practice course.An ex-post-facto design was used in the study. One hundred and seven Jamaican nursing students (3 males & 104 females) who were enrolled in a four-year degree nursing programme were purposefully selected for the study. A questionnaire which had a reliability coefficient of 0.87 was used to collect data from the nursing students. The nursing students who participated in the study completed at least 40 hours of clinical practice in the different units of the hospita...
Research Interests: Psychology and Nursing
The findings reported here form part of a larger research project that the main aim of this study was to survey the sexual practices and perceptions of risk among undergraduate students attending a tertiary institution in Jamaica. To... more
The findings reported here form part of a larger research project that the main aim of this study was to survey the sexual practices and perceptions of risk among undergraduate students attending a tertiary institution in Jamaica. To answer the research questions, a cross-sectional survey research design was used. A total of 541 undergraduate students were selected using the stratified random sampling method. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire and focus group discussion. The questionnaires data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while the focus group data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results showed that 66.4% of the respondents obtained most of their information on sexually transmitted infections from the mass media. More than half of the respondents (67.1%) used condoms during sexual activity and 52.6% stated that they have not changed risky behaviors despite concerns about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). The Ministr...
Research Interests:
Objective: This paper presents the perceptions of employability skills of undergraduates at a university in Kingston, Jamaica. Three research questions guided the study. This descriptive survey aimed to determine the extent to which... more
Objective: This paper presents the perceptions of employability skills of undergraduates at a university in Kingston, Jamaica. Three research questions guided the study. This descriptive survey aimed to determine the extent to which undergraduate students valued employability skills. Method: The study utilized a cross-sectional survey research design in order to use quantitative data collection and data participated in this study. A total of 160 students were selected using the stratified random sampling method. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19. Results: Overall, the highest employability skill with the highest mean among the Nursing students were work attitude (4.0) and task assigned (3.9) among the Pharmacy students. On the other the hand, adapt (2.6), problem-solving (2.6) and organizing (2.8) among the pharmacy students while for the nursing students adapt (2.5), risk-management (2.5) and time management (2.5). For both groups...
Research Interests: Psychology and Nursing
The findings reported here form part of a larger research project that examined non-compliance with medication among the mentally ill patients attending public clinics in a specific parish in Jamaica. The aim of the research was to... more
The findings reported here form part of a larger research project that examined non-compliance with medication among the mentally ill patients attending public clinics in a specific parish in Jamaica. The aim of the research was to explore the perceptions of caregivers about caring for the mentally ill at two outpatient psychiatric clinics. Caregivers involved in looking after their relatives with mental illness played a vital role in mental health promotion. This study sought to examine the caregivers' perception of mental illness, including how they thought the illness was best controlled, the reasons why their relatives found it difficult to take their medication as instructed, and the coping skills that they employed when caring for their relatives. There were two focus groups, consisting of four individuals each, at two psychiatric clinics. The results revealed the following about the majority of the caregivers. First, it was recognised that caregivers have a good knowledge...
The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions that psychiatric workers in Government Hospitals in Jamaica have concerning deinstitutionalized patient care for the mentally ill. A qualitative descriptive design was used.... more
The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions that psychiatric workers in Government Hospitals in Jamaica have concerning deinstitutionalized patient care for the mentally ill. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Participants were selected through convenience sampling and comprised twenty-two psychiatric workers who at the time were working with psychiatric patients in two public hospitals. Ethical approval was obtained. Data were collected through three focus group discussions guided by five broad questions. These sessions were audio taped with the consent of participants. These data were then transcribed, analyzed for themes and relevant responses subsumed under each theme. A four-item questionnaire was also used to capture the demographic data of participants. The results showed that participants' perceptions of deinstitutionalization were both positive and negative. The main themes that emerged were: family bonding; stigma and discrimination; community r...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Bellevue and the Hagley Park mental health outpatient clinics in Jamaica serve the majority of psychiatric patients in the country, but there is a dearth of research on medication compliance, which is a very important mental health... more
The Bellevue and the Hagley Park mental health outpatient clinics in Jamaica serve the majority of psychiatric patients in the country, but there is a dearth of research on medication compliance, which is a very important mental health issue. Medication compliance affects intervention outcomes. Therefore, this study seeks to examine medication compliance among psychiatric patients in Jamaica. A 33-item questionnaire which included items on demographics, health conditions, medication compliance and insightfulness was administered to a sample of 370 participants with a response rate of 93%. The majority of the participants have schizophrenia, followed by depression, bipolar disorder and drug-induced psychosis. The majority of the participants (65.3%) did not comply with their prescribed medication regimen. Medication compliance was significantly related to: gender (P < 0.05) where males were more likely to take the prescribed medication, family support (P < 0.05) where the participants who received family support (the majority being males) were more likely to take the prescribed medication, and insightfulness (P < 0.05) where the majority of participants with insightfulness were females. Locus on control was not statistically tested but a majority of the non- compliant participants reported that factors external to themselves had greater control over their disorder. Conclusion: There are three significant factors that explain the medication compliance of psychiatric patients in Jamaica. An important non-tested factor is locus of control so there needs to be more research to understand the range of factors that can inform and improve patient education about medication compliance. Keywords: Medication Compliance; Mentally Ill; Public Clinics; Kingston; St. Andrew