Abstract
BackgroundThe rapid growth of economy and increasing cost of living in Malaysia have given significant impact especially to the lowest household income population. The main objective of this study was to determine risk factors for low quality of life (QOL) and poor health status of this population.MethodsThis was a cross sectional study design. A total of 347 respondents from low household income groups, including persons with disability and Orang Asli were recruited from E-kasih. A semi-guided self-administered questionnaire was used. QOL measured by EQ. 5D utility value and health status measured by visual analogue score (VAS). Descriptive statistic, bivariate Chi-square analysis and binary logistic regression were conducted to determine factors influencing low QOL and poor health status.ResultsMajority of the respondents were Malay, female (61%), 63% were married, 60% were employed and 46% with total household income of less than 1 thousand Ringgit Malaysia. 70% of them were not having any chronic medical problems. Factors that associated with low QOL were male, single, low household income, and present chronic medical illness, while poor health status associated with female, lower education level and present chronic medical illness. Logistic regression analysis has showed that determinants of low QOL was present chronic illness [AOR 4.15 95%CI (2.42, 7.13)], while determinants for poor health status were; female [AOR 1.94 95%CI (1.09,3.44)], lower education [AOR 3.07 95%CI (1.28,7.34)] and present chronic illness [AOR 2.53 95%CI (1.39,4.61)].ConclusionLow socioeconomic population defined as low total household income in this study. Low QOL of this population determined by present chronic illness, while poor health status determined by gender, education level and chronic medical illness.
Highlights
The rapid growth of economy and increasing cost of living in Malaysia have given significant impact especially to the lowest household income population
The mean household income was MYR 1737, which lower or equal value of mean classified as lower income and higher value classified as higher income (Table 1)
This study has demonstrated an assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) by EQ. EuroQol five Dimension (5D) and visual analogue score (VAS) among low Socioeconomic status (SES) population in Malaysia that was presented by the lowest household income group
Summary
The rapid growth of economy and increasing cost of living in Malaysia have given significant impact especially to the lowest household income population. Malaysia is a multiracial country with a total population of 31.7 million in 2016. Almost 70% or 22.0 million people from the total population belonged to the middle age group of 15 to 64 years old. Household income which is defined as total income received by Socioeconomic status (SES) can be viewed from the social and economic context, which is typically characterized by three dimensions namely education, employment and. People from lower SES background tend to use public health services more than people from the high SES. It is worth considering whether this is a direct result from their generally lower income, or due to a broader social phenomenon. Low level of household income could relatively be called low socioeconomic status
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