Physical and mental aspects of quality of life among Afghan school-going adolescents

Abstract

Background: The World Health Organization define quality of life (QoL) as "the individual's perception of their position in life, within the context of the culture and value systems in which they live, and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns’’. This study, focuses on the physical, and mental aspects of Afghan school adolescents' quality of life.
 Methods: A cross-sectional survey study involving 545 adolescents was carried out in Herat province, Afghanistan. The participants were selected from 10 public primary, secondary, and high schools, which were randomly chosen from a pool of 86 schools registered with the Herat Education Department.
 Results: The quality of life of almost half of the participants was poor on the physical component score (49.2%). Two-thirds of the participants had poor quality of life on the mental component score (66.8%). Multiple regression indicated that middle-income economic status (AOR=2.289, p=0.022), and low-income economic status (AOR=1.550, p=0.044) were significantly associated with physical component score of quality of life. It indicated that place of residency (AOR=1.620, p=0.040) was significantly associated with physical component score of quality of life.
 Conclusion: This study found that QoL of school students are low in both the physical and mental components. It is important to identify children and adolescents who are at risk of developing mental health problems at an early age. To help young people who are struggling with mental health issues and their access to medical treatments, targeted early preventative and intervention are required.