The Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre at the University of the West Indies, Mona, intermittently provides some short courses targeted at caregivers, family members of older adults, older adults and persons interested in providing care for older adults (UWI, 2019). These have included Older Adult Caregivers’ Training, Diabetes Mellitus Management, and practical hands-on training on checking vital signs, insulin administration and nutrition.

Plans are underway at the centre to develop new courses: Understanding Mental Health and First Aid and CPR. In partnership with PAHO, MAWC conducted a one-off ageing workshop for health care workers in the North-East Regional Health Authority (NERHA) which focused on issues such as nutrition, communication, health services and the built environment.

The Human Employment and Resource Training Trust National Training Agency (HEART) also provides training for ‘untrained’ workers as it is a key provider of technical and vocational training targeting school leavers (who passed at least 2 of their 6-8 subjects at the CXC examination level) and employed persons who wish to secure certification or further their career options. The Heart Trust operates 27 training centres island wide and aims to promote the development of human resource capital in Jamaica and improve the lives of citizens seeking training. Programmes provided by HEART include year-long courses in Allied Health- Geriatric Care, which may be a training option for ‘live-in carers’ or ‘caregivers’ who are otherwise ‘untrained’ (Heart NSTA Trust, 2019).

References:

Heart NSTA Trust. (2019). Programmes: Allied Health Geriatric Care. Available from: https://ndar.heart-nta.org/programmes.aspx

University of the West Indies. (2019). Mona Ageing and Wellness Centre. Available from: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/sites/default/files/uwi/reports/wellness.pdf