Kunal Lalwani

• Lecturer at University of the West Indies

Background There is an increasing demand for the treatment of problematic cannabis use (PCU) in low-income and middle-income countries. Jamaica’s historical inclination towards cannabis use underscores the need for research in addressing this issue. Objectives To determine the prevalence and patterns of cannabis use and assess the sociodemographic...

Chronic physical illnesses (CPI) are highly prevalent among people with serious mental illnesses (PWSMI) yet people in this population experience significant challenges accessing healthcare. This study utilised a constructivist grounded theory approach to collect and analyse data related to the enablers and barriers to public healthcare access for...

The Jamaican public health system has incorporated mental health services into community-based primary care to improve healthcare access for people with serious mental illnesses (PWSMI), especially given global concerns about the high rate of comorbidity of chronic physical illnesses (CPI) among this population. Although it has been over twenty yea...

Objectives To determine cannabis use patterns, the predictive sociodemographic correlates of driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) and the association between risk perception and cannabis dependence among vehicle drivers in Jamaica. Design Secondary data analysis. Setting Used the Jamaica National Drug Prevalence Survey 2016 dataset. Pa...

Objectives This study aimed to examine concurrent polysubstance use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana and determine correlations with access to marijuana, friend and familial drug use habits, risk perception and the age of initiation associated with the singular use of these substances. Design A secondary data analysis. Setting Used the Jamaica N...

Objectives To determine the prevalence of alcohol use patterns, sociodemographic factors and risk of alcohol dependence among vehicle drivers in Jamaica. Design A secondary data analysis. Setting This study was conducted using the Jamaica National Drug Prevalence Survey 2016 dataset. Participants This included 1060 vehicle drivers derived from t...

Introduction: tobacco smoking remains a significant threat to public health. This paper sought to examine the prevalence, perceived risk and the associated factors of current tobacco use amongst Jamaican adults. Methods: this study is a secondary data analysis of the Jamaican National Household Survey 2016. The data for this study was extracted...

Background In Latin America and the Caribbean, there is a dearth of research exploring polysubstance use. This study aims to determine the prevalence, varying combinations and associated sociodemographic characteristics of polysubstance use in Jamaica. Methods This study involved a secondary data analysis of the Jamaica National Drug Prevalence Su...