The Influence of Socio-Demographic, Health and Work-Related Factors on Health-Related Quality of Life among Iranian Industrial Workers

Abstract

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has not been investigated among Iranian industrial workers. The present paper aimed to study the influence of the socio-demographic, health and work-related factors on HRQOL among Iranian industrial workers. In this cross-sectional study, participants were 280 workers of two factories. The Persian version of World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to assess the HRQOL. A questionnaire was developed to assess the socio-demographic, health and work-related factors. Results showed that the means (SD) of physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment domains of HRQOL were 13.2 (2.7), 13.3 (2.6), 14.2 (3.5) and 12.6 (2.5), respectively. A multiple linear regression showed that types of job, exercise activity, working schedule, sleep quality, smoking, and conflict between work and social life were significantly associated with physical health domain; whereas, working schedule, marital status, working demand, sleep quality, BMI, and conflict between work and individual life were significantly associated with psychological health domain. Working schedule, working demand, sleep quality, conflict between work and individual life, and having children over two years were significantly associated with social relationship domain; however, working demand, working schedule, smoking, sleep quality, working hour, job satisfaction, marital sta-* Corresponding authors. S. M. Taghavi et al. 2251 tus and exercise activity were significantly associated with environment domain. Collectively, work-related factors including unhealthy working conditions, unsafe working environments, long working hours, irregular working schedules, and the lack of occupational training may negatively influence the HRQOL of workers. To improve workers' HRQOL, intervention programs should focus on improving work environment, working schedule, occupational training and restricting working hours.

Health-Related Quality of Life and Associated Factors of Frontline Railway Workers: A Cross-Sectional Survey in the Ankang Area, Shaanxi Province, China

“…It is also worth noting that, for train drivers, being married was associated with poor HRQOL, although the relationship was only significant in the physical HRQOL domain. So far the relationship between marital status and HRQOL is inconclusive with the majority of studies finding being married is associated with a better HRQOL [38]. However, a study on Chinese railway workers also reported that being married was negatively associated with self-rated health [17].…”

Work Ability Score (WAS) as a Suitable Instrument to Assess Work Ability Among Iranian Workers

“…It is documented that workers who had irregular work schedule undoubtedly suffer from physical and psychological health problems (23,24). In this regard, Taghavi et al (2014) (25) report that workers who have two-shift work schedule, have lower mean scores in some domains of quality of life. To our knowledge, there are no study assessing the effect of two-shift work schedule on work ability and most researchers have been focused on the threeshift work schedule and its related problems.…”

Predictors of health‐related quality of life among industrial workers: A descriptive correlational study

“…According to Taghavi et al . (), work‐related factors were a predictor of poor HRQOL. Previous studies have also reported that many work‐related factors, including physical workload, job tenure, type of job, and working hours, are associated with HRQOL (dos Santos & de Oliveira, ; Savas et al ., ; Zhu et al ., ).…”

“…Researchers and administrators are concerned about the importance of assessing and evaluating the health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) of industrial workers (Tsai, ; Taghavi et al ., ; Hong et al ., ). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines quality of life as “an individuals' perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems where they live, and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns” (The WHOQOL Group, , p. 1403).…”

“…It is also related to satisfaction on a number of levels: satisfying mental, physical, and social needs; and it is a balance, a pleasure, and satisfaction of the requirements of an individual's life (Zikmund, ). Several studies have reported that many factors effect HRQOL among industrial workers (Kim, ; Taghavi et al ., ; Hong et al ., ). Therefore, it is essential to examine the effects of these factors and the main predictors of HRQOL in order to develop specific occupational health programs for improving conditions for industrial workers.…”