Using Open-Ended Data to Enrich Survey Results on the Meanings of Self-Rated Health: A Study Among Women in Underprivileged Communities in Beirut, Lebanon

This study extends the debate on self-rated health by using different sources of data in the same study to explore the meanings of self-rated health among women who live in socio-economically disadvantaged communities in Beirut, Lebanon. Using data from the Urban Health Study, a cross-sectional hous...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women & health 2009-12, Vol.49 (8), p.625-641
Main Authors: Salem, Mylene Tewtel, Abdulrahim, Sawsan, Zurayk, Huda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Distribution
Beirut, Lebanon
Cross-Sectional Studies
Culture
Epidemiology
Female
Females
Health
Health Status
Health Surveys
Humans
Lebanon
Middle Aged
Personal health
Polls & surveys
Poverty
Psychological Factors
Regression analysis
Self Concept
self-rated health
Social Environment
Socioeconomic Factors
Urban Population
War
Women's Health
Womens health
Young Adult
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Summary:This study extends the debate on self-rated health by using different sources of data in the same study to explore the meanings of self-rated health among women who live in socio-economically disadvantaged communities in Beirut, Lebanon. Using data from the Urban Health Study, a cross-sectional household survey of 1,869 women between 15 and 59 years of age, multiple logistic regression models were developed to assess factors associated with self-rated health. Also, open-ended data was used to analyze women's explanations of their self-rated health ratings. Self-rated health was found to be a complex concept, associated not only with physical health but also with a combination of social, psychological, and behavioral factors. This open-ended analysis revealed new meanings of self-rated health that are often not included in self-rated health epidemiologic research, such as women's experiences with pain and fatigue, as well as exposure to financial stressors and the legacy of wars. We argue that triangulating survey and open-ended data provides a better understanding of the context-specific social and cultural meanings of self-rated health.
ISSN:0363-0242
1541-0331
DOI:10.1080/03630240903495962