İstanbul-Sultanbeyli'deki Arapça konuşan göçmenlerin sağlıkla ilgili yaşam kalitelerinin değerlendirilmesi

Objective: Migration is a global phenomenon and creates a sudden/rapid environmental change, affects society and individuals. It was objected to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Arabic speaking immigrants living in Sultanbeyli–Istanbul. Material and methods: Data for this descriptive study collected from Arabic-speaking immigrants registered in the Association for Refugees in Sultanbeyli/Istanbul through face-to-face interviewer by using a questionnaire in Arabic, including items about socio-demographic characteristics, HRQOL(SF-36), and reproductive health of ever-married-women (EMW). Data analyzed by using SPSS11.0. Results: In this study, 379 participants were interviewed (age:19-79, median.33,0 years). More than half were females (57,5%), most of the respondents (85,5%) were ever married, and 29,6% of ever-married-women had more than four children. One-third of participants (36,7%) completed primary schools. The HRQOL scores among females were lower than those of males in the physical-function subscale (80,0 vs. 85,0, p:0.033). The youngest age group had higher physical-function, body-pain, general-health, and role-limitation-physical scores (p:0.0001, p:0.0001, p:0.0001, p:0.047). There were significant differences in HRQOL domains due to educational-attainment, employment-status, and known-language. Physical-function, body-pain, role-limitation-physical, and role-limitation-emotional scales were significantly affected by the number of living children for EMW. Conclusion: Our findings show that Arabic-speaking-immigrants residing in Sultanbeyli/Istanbul have HRQOL scales relatively moderate. The HRQOL is significantly influenced by age, educational attainment, employment status, and known language. It is recommended to implement the Turkish language and vocational courses for immigrants. Family planning services should be taken place in Refugee Associations.