School of Public Policy and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, Jiangsu, China.
School of Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, Jiangsu, China.
Biomed Res Int. 2020 Jan 24;2020:9063808. doi: 10.1155/2020/9063808. eCollection 2020.
. Persistent urban-rural disparity in subjective health and quality of life is a growing concern for healthcare systems across the world. In general, urban population performs better on most health indicators compared with their rural counterparts. However, research evidence on the urban-rural disparity on perceived health, happiness, and quality of life among the young adult population is scarce in South American countries like Guyana. Therefore, in the present study we aimed to investigate whether subjective health, happiness, and quality of life differ according to place of residence among the young adult population in Guyana.
Cross-sectional data on 2,434 men and women aging between 15 and 24 years were collected from the most recent Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted in 2014. Outcome variables were perceived: satisfaction about health, life, and happiness, as well as life satisfaction before and after one year from the time of the survey. The urban-rural disparity in reporting satisfaction for these indicators was assessed by multivariate regression methods and by adjusting for relevant sociodemographic factors.
More than four-fifth of the respondents reported satisfaction with health (82.4%) and life (81.4%) and 77.9% reported being happy. A vast majority expressed improvement in life situation compared with a year ago (81.4%), and nearly all of the participants (95.4%) expect to have better life situation a year later. Multivariate analysis revealed an inverse association between rural residence and subjective health among men [OR = 0.518, 95%CI = 0.297, 0.901], and happiness [OR = 0.662, 95%CI = 0.381, 0.845] and life satisfaction [OR = 3.722, 95%CI = 1.502, 9.227] among women. Women having secondary [OR = 2.219, 95%CI = 1.209, 3.720] and higher [OR = 1.600, 95%CI = 1.041, 3.302] education also had higher odds of satisfaction with happiness.
Our findings demonstrate the existence of significant urban-rural disparities in perceived health and quality of life among the young adult population in Guyana, especially among women. National health promotion projects should therefore take proper policy actions to address the underlying factors contributing to the urban-rural gaps in order to establish a more equitable healthcare system. Further researches are necessary to explore the underlying causes behind such disparities.
本研究旨在探讨圭亚那青年人群的主观健康、幸福感和生活质量是否因居住地而异。
本研究使用 2014 年圭亚那最新的多指标类集调查（Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey）中收集的年龄在 15 至 24 岁之间的 2434 名男性和女性的横断面数据。结果变量为感知健康、生活和幸福感满意度，以及从调查时间起一年后生活满意度。通过多元回归方法和调整相关社会人口因素来评估报告这些指标满意度的城乡差异。
超过四分之三的受访者表示对健康（82.4%）和生活（81.4%）满意，77.9%的受访者表示幸福。绝大多数人表示与一年前相比生活状况有所改善（81.4%），几乎所有参与者（95.4%）预计一年后生活状况会更好。多变量分析显示，男性农村居住与主观健康呈负相关[OR=0.518，95%CI=0.297，0.901]，与幸福感[OR=0.662，95%CI=0.381，0.845]和女性生活满意度[OR=3.722，95%CI=1.502，9.227]呈负相关。接受中等[OR=2.219，95%CI=1.209，3.720]和高等[OR=1.600，95%CI=1.041，3.302]教育的女性对幸福感的满意度也更高。
我们的研究结果表明，圭亚那青年人群的主观健康和生活质量存在显著的城乡差异，尤其是女性。因此，国家健康促进项目应采取适当的政策行动，解决导致城乡差距的根本因素，以建立更公平的医疗保健系统。有必要进一步研究以探讨这种差异背后的根本原因。
