Abstract
Purpose
This article is a report of using seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) models to examine the determinants of different dimensions
of quality of life (QoL) among childbearing age women. There are a limited number of studies on QoL and its associated factors
among women in developing countries such as Iran. Therefore, more attention should be focused on identifying these issues.
of quality of life (QoL) among childbearing age women. There are a limited number of studies on QoL and its associated factors
among women in developing countries such as Iran. Therefore, more attention should be focused on identifying these issues.
Methods
We administered the Persian’s abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire
to 1,067 married women aged between 15 and 49 years. The women were chosen via a multistage research design from the rural
region of Shiraz, the center of Fars Province in Iran in 2008. Clinical and socio-demographic characteristics as well as their
reproductive health-related characteristics were investigated. To identify associated factors of QoL dimensions, ordinary
least squares (OLS) regression and SUR were used and their findings were compared.
to 1,067 married women aged between 15 and 49 years. The women were chosen via a multistage research design from the rural
region of Shiraz, the center of Fars Province in Iran in 2008. Clinical and socio-demographic characteristics as well as their
reproductive health-related characteristics were investigated. To identify associated factors of QoL dimensions, ordinary
least squares (OLS) regression and SUR were used and their findings were compared.
Results
The WHOQOL-BREF showed acceptable consistency (Cronbach’s alpha range: 0.62–0.75 across domains). Lower age, absence of long-term
illness, economic status satisfaction, higher level of education, lower number of pregnancies, and higher body mass index
were important associated factors of different dimensions of the QoL among these women. The estimated parameters for these
factors were in close agreement in both OLS and SUR estimation methods. However, the SUR estimator provided the higher precision
of the estimates than the OLS estimator, as the parameters obtained by SUR are characterized by lower standard errors. Women’s
age, income satisfaction, and level of education were common for all domains.
illness, economic status satisfaction, higher level of education, lower number of pregnancies, and higher body mass index
were important associated factors of different dimensions of the QoL among these women. The estimated parameters for these
factors were in close agreement in both OLS and SUR estimation methods. However, the SUR estimator provided the higher precision
of the estimates than the OLS estimator, as the parameters obtained by SUR are characterized by lower standard errors. Women’s
age, income satisfaction, and level of education were common for all domains.
Conclusions
This study presents a novel approach to simultaneously predict QoL domains using the SUR estimators and the results are relevant
for implementing objective QoL. SUR estimators performed consistently better than the OLS estimators, since SUR takes the
correlation between error terms into account. Thus, the SUR method could be a useful methodology for predicting QoL domains.
for implementing objective QoL. SUR estimators performed consistently better than the OLS estimators, since SUR takes the
correlation between error terms into account. Thus, the SUR method could be a useful methodology for predicting QoL domains.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-9
- DOI 10.1007/s11136-012-0250-3
- Authors
- Sareh Keshavarzi, Department of Biostatistics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Seyyed Mohammad Taghi Ayatollahi, Department of Biostatistics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Najaf Zare, Department of Biostatistics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
- Farkhondeh Sharif, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran
- Journal Quality of Life Research
- Online ISSN 1573-2649
- Print ISSN 0962-9343