- What is quality of life?
- How is quality of life measured?
- Quality of life factors
- Quality of life indicators
We explain what quality of life is and what are the ways to measure it. Factors that influence it, and quality of life indicators.
What is quality of life?
The meaning of quality of life It is complex, since it is a concept that we use to refer to variables of an economic, social and political nature, among others, that have a direct impact on human life. However, there is no consensus regarding what quality of life is, so there are definitions from different fields of knowledge, such as sociology, the politics, medicine, etc.
What does exist is a more or less defined criterion regarding which countries and regions offer life models to their population that allow a greater development of their potentialities and, in general terms, a fuller life.
Thus, different international organizations are in charge of measuring this quality of life. And they make it through methods specific that focus their attention on various aspects of human life in society, to thus elaborate a development index that allows to stratify the geographic and national regions based on which one offers the best living conditions.
In the past, this type of analysis They were made considering only the economic aspects of the country, such as economic growth or industrial production, but in recent times this type of approach has been discarded as they reduce the quality of human life to minimal material conditions, leaving out many other variables.
How is quality of life measured?
To measure quality of life, statistical information, surveys, social, cultural and medical reviews are usually used, usually focused on three main aspects:
- Life expectancy or longevity.
- The educational level throughout the country and the social classes.
- The Gross Domestic Product per capita.
From these three indicators, the HDI (Index of Human development) proposed by the UN through UNDP (United Nations Development Program). The countries with the highest HDI in the world are Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Canada and Japan.
Quality of life factors
Broadly speaking, numerous and different factors that intervene for better or for worse in the quality of life of societies can be identified, depending on how one does their study. We could, however, group them into very general categories:
- Environmental context. The wars, political instabilities, extreme economic or work conditions largely determine the quality of life of an individual or a group human, from the consequences that his historical context exert on him.
- Social environment. The degree of insertion in society, family support, the presence of institutions Protective or social marginalization are also variables that are at stake when it comes to thinking about quality of life. In fact, individuals from the same region may have different qualities of life according to their social environment.
- Vital conditions. Wealth and poverty, the real opportunities, in short, the conditions in which an individual comes into the world and develops directly affect their opportunities and their quality of life in general.
- Personal satisfaction. At very personal levels, individual decisions and the unique way to deal with all of the above conditions are also important factors in an individual's quality of life.
- Culture and society. The cultural conditions exerted on an individual or a group of them by the rest of the community or by themselves they cannot be ignored either.
Quality of life indicators
In the statistical study of the quality of life, the indicators of the quality of life are examined objectively: the elements that must be questioned to get an idea about the way of life of societies. Some of them are:
- Material conditions. Wealth, access to saving, type of home, etc.
- Job. Labor band (formal, informal, illegal), salary, employment conditions, etc.
- Health. Access to medical services, medicines, conditions of hygiene daily, etc.
- Education. Formal academic level achieved, access to education at all levels, etc.
- Leisure and social relations. Access to entertainment, amount of free time, level of integration into society, emotional ties, etc.
- Physical and personal security. Regarding the conditions of life, work, etc.
- Basic rights. Protection (or helplessness) on the part of the institutions of the Condition, etc.
- Environment and environment. Geographic living conditions, immediate environment of vital development, etc.