Health-related quality of life of Palestinian preschoolers in the Gaza Strip
Author Information
Author(s): Massad Salwa G, Nieto F Javier, Palta Mari, Smith Maureen, Clark Roseanne, Thabet Abdel-Aziz
Primary Institution: BirZeit University
Hypothesis
The health-related quality of life declines with both direct and indirect exposures to violence, and with increased number of exposures to traumatic events.
Conclusion
Health-related quality of life, including psychosocial health and emotional functioning, is often severely impaired among preschoolers in the Gaza Strip.
Supporting Evidence
- 65% of mothers reported severely impaired psychosocial and emotional functioning in their children.
- Preschoolers had lower HRQOL than the US reference sample.
- Factors associated with lower HRQOL included older child age, male gender, and more exposures to traumatic events.
Takeaway
This study found that many young children in Gaza are very sad and have a hard time feeling good because of the violence around them.
Methodology
A cross-sectional random sample of kindergartens was used to examine factors associated with health-related quality of life in preschoolers.
Potential Biases
Parental report may be affected by child age and mother's self-rated health.
Limitations
The study is observational and cannot establish causality; it relies on parental reports which may be biased.
Participant Demographics
Mean child age was 59 months, with about 49% being female; approximately 60% of mothers had poor mental health.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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