Poor health-related quality of life in Iran: decomposition analysis of affecting factors
International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare
ISSN: 2056-4902
Article publication date: 1 October 2018
Issue publication date: 21 February 2019
Abstract
Purpose
Poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is one of the important issues in the health sector. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prevalence and socio-economic inequality in poor HRQoL in Tehran city, Iran.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 562 adults were included in this cross-sectional study. The cluster sampling method was used for data collection from May to June, 2016 in Tehran city, Iran. Data on HRQoL, using EuroQol 5-dimensions questionnaire, and data on socio-economic and demographic variables were gathered. Convenience regression method was performed to measure the concentration index (CI). Decomposition analysis was performed to determine the contribution of variables on socio-economic inequality in poor HRQoL. All analyses were performed by Stata v.14.
Findings
The prevalence of poor HRQoL was 28.3 percent. The value of CI for “poor HRQoL” was −0.299 (95% confidence interval: −0.402 to −0.195). Socio-economic status (SES) was the largest contributor to socio-economic inequality in poor HRQoL (69.44 percent of inequality was explained by SES). Age, obesity and race had a positive contribution to socio-economic inequality in poor HRQoL among the participants. Nonetheless, sex and smoking intensity had a negative contribution to inequality in poor HRQoL.
Originality/value
There is little evidence about the prevalence of poor HRQoL in insured people. This study provided new evidence in this area through the investigation of socio-economic inequality in poor HRQoL and its determinants among people with health insurance in Iran using decomposition analysis.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare for this study. The authors would like to thank Professor Arash Rashidian for help in designing this study. This research was funded by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (No. 29725) and Social Security Research Institute (No. 395002684). We thank the Social Security Insurance Organization (SSIO) and Iran Health Insurance Organization (IHIO) for assistance with the data gathering process.
Citation
Kazemi Karyani, A., Rezaei, S., Karami Matin, B. and Amini, S. (2019), "Poor health-related quality of life in Iran: decomposition analysis of affecting factors", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 28-37. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-05-2018-0036
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited