Quality of life assessment in the portuguese population

Abstract

In the last decades, the evaluation of the quality of life of populations has been constant, both in general terms and in specific populations, often used to assess the impact of health interventions. Its concept can be different due to the context or the different perception of the subjects. The World Health Organization understands it as the perception that an individual has about his position in life, in his context, meeting his goals, expectations, standards and concerns. Health and quality of life are two concepts with an indisputable relationship, since “health contributes to improving the quality of life of individuals and this is an essential determinant for individuals or the community to have health. Thus, we intend to evaluate the quality of life in individuals aged 18 years or over. To this end, we opted to carry out a descriptive cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. A methodology called snowball or snowball sampling was used, being a non-probabilistic sampling technique. A questionnaire consisting of characterization questions and the SF-36v2 (The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey) was used. This is a generic health questionnaire, with 36 items that assess the physical, emotional and social dimension, as well as physical and emotional performance, pain and general health and vitality. Data collection was carried out in 2020. The ethical precepts applied to this type of studies were considered, taking into account the Declaration of Helsinki and the Oviedo Convention. The sample consists of 135 individuals, mostly female (68.15%), aged between 18 and 63 years. They are mostly single (60.74%), licensed (50.37%), residing in urban areas (70.37%). Regarding the state of health, they perceive it to be good and excellent (48.88%), compared to a year ago 45.93% perceive it to be similar. In physical terms, 37.5% of those questioned and sometimes 27.94% feel vitality. In psychological and emotional terms 43.38% feel calm and calm most of the time and 23.53 feel some time. More than 50% do not feel any limitation in activities, whether physical, psychological, or emotional. They feel as healthy or more like the other 62.24%. These results allow us to conclude that in general the participants have good levels of related quality of life. Similar results were found about physical and emotional health. The sample size can be considered as a limit for this investigation. These assessments allow the identification of health determinants and facilitate decision making.