What Do Iranian People Have in Mind When Assessing Their Quality of Life? A Qualitative Study

Background and Objectives: The main question that arises in ‘Quality of Life’ (QOL) studies is how people assess this phenomenon and what factors affect it. Using these answers, we can better analyze the findings of QOL studies in our country. Methods: In this content analysis, we carried out semi-structured interviews, and applied maximum variation opportunistic sampling in terms of gender, age, education, ethnicity, and economic status. First, we asked the participants to answer the question on QOL by thinking aloud. Then, they were asked to discuss the factors that affected their choice a posteriori. Finally, the inductive qualitative analysis was done and the mental model of the participants was extracted. Results: We extracted five main categories and 33 themes. These categories included physical factors, psychological factors, socioeconomic factors, family issues, and environmental factors. Physical health, expectations, satisfaction, community engagement, financial problems, environmental pollution, leisure and recreation, family environment, family relationships and the role of the wife were the most important factors affecting the QOL in the participants’ opinions. Conclusion: In addition to the health status, family issues such as the family environment and financial problems affected the QOL. Moreover, the participants believed environmental health was an integral part of QOL.