Health-Related Quality of Life across a Variety of Community Contexts

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the socioeconomic determinants of health and well-being. Efforts to date have focused on the associations between measures of social position and objective measures of health. However, health can also be gauged using subjective measures such as health-related quality of life (HRQOL), while other social determinants, such as neighbourhood factors, appear largely neglected. The aim of this study was to estimate the relationship between HRQOL (as measured by the WHOQoL questionnaire) and both social position (as measured by the New Zealand Deprivation (NZDep) index) and participants' perceptions about their home neighbourhood. A total of 746 participants living in areas with six different NZDep scores completed a survey probing HRQOL, problems in the neighbourhood, and perceptions of amenity. Results showed that people living in wealthier areas reported better HRQOL, and that amenity ratings mediated the relationship. The study's findings have implications for researchers interested in the social determinants of health and the operationalisation of these social indicators and health in that health outcomes depended on perceived amenity rather than absolute wealth.