Barbados: migrant health guide
Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients from Barbados for healthcare practitioners.
Main messages
If the patient is new to the UK:
- explain to them how the NHS works
- discuss how this compares to the healthcare system they’ve been used to
Ensure that all patients are up-to-date with the UK immunisation schedule.
Offer and recommend an HIV test to all adults from Barbados and consider offering an HIV test to infants and children who have recently arrived in the UK.
Offer to all sexually active individuals:
- a full sexual health screen
- safer sex health promotion advice
Determine any risk factors for hepatitis B, that may indicate the need for screening because Barbados has a low prevalence.
Ask about any travel plans the patient may have to visit friends and relatives in their country of origin, and see National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), or the Health Protection Scotland websites (TRAVAX and fitfortravel), for travel advice.
There is a risk of typhoid infection in Barbados.
Consider nutritional and metabolic concerns.
Find out more about children’s health.
Infectious diseases
Immunisation
Ensure that all patients, especially children, are up-to-date with the UK immunisation schedule. See the immunisation collection with current schedules.
Tuberculosis (TB)
There is a low incidence of TB in Barbados (<40 cases per 100,000), so:
- routine screening is not required
- consider testing in patients (including children) who show signs and symptoms
- be aware that TB is a notifiable disease
Sexually transmitted infections and HIV
Barbados has a high rate of HIV (>1%), so
- offer and recommend an HIV test according to UK national testing guidelines
- consider offering an HIV test to infants and children who have recently arrived in the UK according to UK national testing guidelines
Be advised that although recent global data on STIs are not available, countries with high HIV rates tend to have higher rates of STIs, and the range of STIs encountered in Barbados may vary from those in the UK, so offer to sexually active individuals:
- a full sexual health screen
- safer sex health promotion advice by referral to local genito-urinary medicine services
Hepatitis B
Barbados has a low prevalence of hepatitis B, so:
- offer screening for hepatitis B to all pregnant women during each pregnancy
- immunise appropriately babies born to mothers who are hepatitis B positive, and follow-up accordingly
- be aware that the UK has a universal infant immunisation programme for hepatitis B and a selective immunisation programme for higher risk groups
Hepatitis C
Barbados has a higher prevalence of hepatitis C than the UK, so consider screening for hepatitis C if other risk factors apply.
Travel plans and advice
Ask about any travel plans the patient may have to visit friends and relatives in their country of origin, and see National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), or the Health Protection Scotland websites (TRAVAX and fitfortravel), for travel advice.
Typhoid
There is a risk of typhoid infection in Barbados, so:
- ensure that travellers to Barbados are offered typhoid immunisation and advice on prevention of enteric fever
- remember enteric fever in the differential diagnosis of illness in patients with a recent history of travel to-or-from Barbados
Helminths
There is a risk of helminth infections in Barbados, including soil transmitted helminthiasis.
Women’s health
Reproductive health indicators
| Reproductive health indicator | UK | Barbados |
|---|---|---|
| Children per woman¹ | 2 | 2 |
¹lifetime average
No data are available on:
- contraceptive use
- mammography screening rates
- cervical cancer screening rates
Find out more about women’s health.
Nutritional and metabolic concerns
Anaemia
There is a moderate risk of anaemia in adults (estimated prevalence in non-pregnant women is 20 to 40%) and pre-school children (estimated prevalence is 20 to 40%), so:
- consider this possibility in recently arrived migrants, particularly for women and pre-school children
- test as clinically indicated
Vitamin D
Consider the possibility of vitamin D deficiency in people who may be at risk due to:
- covering their body for cultural or religious reasons (lack of sunlight)
- skin colour
- diet (vegan or vegetarian)
Vitamin A
There may be a risk of vitamin A deficiency in Barbados.
Country profile
Health indicators and health care
WHO Global Health Observatory has a summary of health indicators and health care in Barbados.
Culture, politics and history
BBC News and The World Factbook provide background information on the culture, politics and history of Barbados.
Languages
The main languages used in Barbados are:
- English (official)
- Bajan (English-based creole language, widely spoken in informal settings)
Source: The World Factbook.
Find out about language interpretation.
Religions
| Religion | Population (%)¹ |
|---|---|
| Protestant² | 66.3 |
| None | 20.6 |
| Other Christian³ | 5.4 |
| Roman Catholic | 3.8 |
| Other | 1.5 |
| Unspecified | 1.2 |
| Rastafarian | 1 |
¹2010 est. ²includes: Anglican 23.9%, other Pentecostal 19.5%, Adventist 5.9%, Methodist 4.2%, Wesleyan 3.4%, Nazarene 3.2%, Church of God 2.4%, Baptist 1.8%, Moravian 1.2%, other Protestant 0.8% ³includes: Jehovah’s Witness 2.0%, other 3.4%
Source: The World Factbook.
Migration to the UK
There were almost 19,000 people from Barbados living in England and Wales at the time of the 2011 Census.
Source: Office for National Statistics © Crown Copyright 2014.
Updates to this page
Published 31 July 2014Last updated 27 July 2018 + show all updates
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Updated HIV guidance with latest (2016) UNAIDS data.
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Updated advice on screening for hep B and anaemia, based on current prevalence in Barbados.
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First published.