The Relationship Between Rural Women’s Health-Related Quality of Life and Domestic Violence

Abstract

Background: Nowadays, by development of societies, health related quality of life has become a very important issue. Traditionally for health assessment, some indexes such as; morbidity, mortality, and life expectancy, have been taken into consideration but these factors are not able to assess life satisfaction. Objectives: The present study was aimed to investigate the relationship between rural women's health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and domestic violence. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the rural districts of Kermanshah, Iran, 2012. Using multistage cluster sampling, 394 women were selected. They completed WHOQOL-BREF and Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) questionnaires. Data analyzed by SPSS 16, using Pearson correlation and regression tests. Results: The mean scores of total QOL were 55.8+or-12.9. There was significant inverse correlation between domestic violence dimensions and all health-related quality of life domains (P<0.01). Conclusions: Domestic violence can affect rural women's health-related quality of life negatively. Regarding the hidden nature of domestic violence and its presence in all communities, taking into consideration policies to reduce violence through legal education and raising women awareness can positively affect women's quality of life.