PSYCHIATRIC-HOSPITAL ADMISSION RATES IN JAMAICA, 1971 AND 1988

The overall psychiatric hospital admission rates in Jamaica were 136 per 100 000 in 1971 and 69 per 100 000 in 1988. The admission rate for schizophrenia was 69 per 100 000 in 1971 and 35 per 100 000 in 1988. The 49% reduction in admission rates over these 17 years is attributed to the introduction of an island-wide community mental health service with psychiatric admission to general parish hospitals in 1972. This admission rate for schizophrenia is five to six times lower than the rate reported for Afro-Caribbeans in the UK by a number of studies, and is more in keeping with the admission rate for schizophrenia reported for the general population in England.