The Healthy-Youth Paradox in Jamaica: Social Conditions, Functional Health and Chronic Morbidity Among Children and Young People in the 2023 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions
Abstract
Background: Children and young people are commonly treated as comparatively healthy populations, yet chronic disease, functional limitations and unequal social conditions established early in life may shape later morbidity. Evidence from Jamaica remains fragmented, with few contemporary national studies directly comparing children aged 0–14 years with youth aged 15–24 years across social, geographical, healthcare and chronic-disease domains. Objective: This study compared the sociodemographic characteristics, health status, healthcare utilisation, insurance coverage and self-reported chronic morbidity of Jamaican children and youth using the 2023 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions. Methods: A secondary cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 1,545 respondents aged 24 years or younger, comprising 926 children and 619 youth. Data were accessed through the SALISES Documentation Centre/Derek Gordon Databank, Mona Campus, The University of the West Indies. Frequencies, cross-tabulations, Pearson chi-square tests and contingency coefficients were used, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. Results: Children and youth were similar by sex, parish, area of residence, health insurance, healthcare utilisation, injury and functional health. Significant differences occurred for educational level, household headship, general illness and asthma. Asthma was the most frequently reported chronic condition, affecting 6.0% of children and 9.9% of youth, although the association was weak. Most other chronic diseases were rare and statistically indistinguishable between cohorts. Conclusion: Jamaican children and youth displayed structural and functional health similarity despite selected age-related differences. The findings identify asthma and reported illness as exceptions and underscore the need for life-course surveillance that bridges paediatric, adolescent and young-adult health rather than examining these populations separately.