The Relationship between General Health of Citizens in Pardisa District of Qom and their Satisfaction with Ecological Components of Urban Quality of Life

Seyed Saeed   Mazloomi  Mahmoodabad; Mohammad Mahdi   Shahwaroughi; Mohammad Hassan  Ehrampoush; Mahdieh  Namayandeh

doi:10.18502/tbj.v19i1.2813

Seyed Saeed Mazloomi Mahmoodabad
Mohammad Mahdi Shahwaroughi
Mohammad Hassan Ehrampoush
Mahdieh Namayandeh

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/tbj.v19i1.2813

Keywords: Human ecology, Urban quality of life, Environmental (physical), Social, Economic, Health

Abstract

Introduction: Human ecology examines the interactions between humans and the environment. Investigation of the human happiness and health requires a systematic study of the human life and ecosystem, which includes the physical and social environment of the human species. Ecosystem is the basis of changes that occur in the biological, psychological, and social systems, because they happen in the context of environment. The urban areas can also be considered as an ecosystem that can affect biological, psychological, and social aspects of the inhabitants. As a result, ecosystem is associated with the inhabitants' happiness and the health.

Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted over 145 individuals with 15 years of age living in Pardisan district of Qom. To collect data randomly, two questionnaires were administered: a questionnaire to assess the residents' ecological satisfaction (environmental, economic, and social) from urban quality of life and a general health questionnaire. In order to investigate the differences between quantitative variables, two groups of ecological components of urban quality of life and general health as a whole and their subsets were considered. T-test and ANOVA were aplied to analyze the collected data. Pearson correlation test was used to determine the relationship between quantitative variables (satisfaction with ecological components of the urban quality of life and general health and related subsets).

Results: The results of this study indicated a significant correlation between all environmental, social, and economic components, physical scales, anxiety, social function, and depression, except for the ecological component and social function. In other words, decreased satisfaction from the ecological urban quality of life increased the scores of general health, which indicated an increase in the disease symptoms in the general health questionnaire.

Conclusion: Considering the relationship between the ecological components of urban quality of life and health, the residents' views and their basic problems should be investigated in order to create the appropriate conditions for improving their quality of urban life.