A Multidimensional Examination of Functional Health, Chronic Morbidity, Socioeconomic Inequalities, Healthcare Protection, and the Social Determinants of Health Among Jamaican Males: Evidence from the 2023 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions
Abstract
Background: Men's health remains an important but comparatively underdeveloped area of population-health research in Jamaica, despite longstanding evidence that Jamaican males use healthcare less frequently and experience distinctive morbidity and mortality risks. Earlier Jamaican studies have examined self-rated health, healthcare-seeking, ageing, chronic disease, marital status and selected cardiovascular risk factors, but contemporary nationally based evidence integrating functional health, chronic morbidity, health insurance, socioeconomic circumstances and independent predictors of functional limitation remains limited. Objective: This study assessed the health status of Jamaican males and examined demographic, socioeconomic, residential, relationship and illness-related determinants of functional-health difficulty using the 2023 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC). Methods: A secondary cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 2,177 male respondents identified in the JSLC 2023 dataset, using descriptive statistics, Pearson's chi-square tests, Cramer's V and multivariable binary logistic regression. Results: Most males were uninsured (82.2%); 14.3% with valid functional-health information reported some degree of functional difficulty; hypertension was the most frequently reported chronic condition (11.8%); and functional-health difficulty was independently associated with age, illness status, single status, and household headship. Conclusion: The findings indicate a male-health paradox in which apparently low levels of current illness coexist with chronic morbidity, functional limitation and substantial deficiencies in financial protection, thereby indicating that assessment of Jamaican men's health should extend beyond contemporaneous self-reported illness to incorporate functioning, diagnosed disease, social circumstances and access to healthcare protection.