RESEARCH PAPER
Education level and occupational status vs. life quality of women at pri- and post-menopausal age
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Katedra Zdrowia Publicznego Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Lublinie
Med Og. 2010;16(1):14-24
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ABSTRACT
The objective of the study was the analysis of the effect of education level and occupational status on the quality of life of women at peri- and post-menopausal age. Three standardised questionnaire forms were applied in the study: WHOQOL-BREF, Women’s Health Questionnaire (WHQ) and SF-36, as well as a questionnaire designed by the authors. In 2007 the questionnaire form was mailed to 7,875 women aged 45-65 lat, living in the Lublin Region. As many as 2,143 of letters were returned (the response rate 27.2 %). The data obtained were subject to statistical analyses.
The results of the analyses showed that education level exerted a significant effect on the quality of life of the women in the study. Those possessing university or licentiate education level were characterised by the highest life quality, whereas the lowest life quality was noted among women who had incomplete elementary, elementary or high school education. The occupational status of the respondents also significantly affected their life quality. The highest quality of life was observed among women who were occupationally active working full time. Women who received health benefit due to incapability for work or a family allowance had a significantly lower life quality, compared to the remaining respondents. Occupation performed full time to a very high degree determined the women’s quality of life, while life quality of those performing the occupation of a farmer or other manual labour was worse. Women who worked as teachers or performed other type of intellectual work or intellectiual work associated with great responsibility enjoyed a considerably higher life quality.
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