title: Health-Related Quality of Life, Gender, and Culture of Older People Users of Health Services in the Multicultural Landscape of the City of Ceuta (Spain): A Cross-Sectional Study.
abstract: Perceptions of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are influenced by sociodemographic variables and by cultural-religious concepts of health, disease, and old age, among others.
  
  
  
  To assess the HRQOL of older people in a population with a long history of multiculturalism, the city of Ceuta (Spain), and to compare the results with Spanish reference values.
  
  
  
  A total of 372 individuals (55.4% females) were interviewed using the Spanish version of the Short Form-36 questionnaire. The subjects' mean age was 70.9 (SD = 5) years: 253 were Christians, 93 Muslims, and 26 Jews, representing the proportions in the overall population of these cultural-religious groups.
  
  
  
  HRQOL differs according to the cultural-religious affiliation, which specifically affects social and psychological dimensions.
  
  
  
  All groups obtained lower social function scores than the reference values, especially the Muslim and Jewish groups.
  
  
  
  Health care providers may consider integrating culturally sensitive interventions to improve HRQOL.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Ceuta, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Milagrosa
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Olmedo-Alguacil
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Ceuta, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramírez-Rodrigo
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain carmenvg@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Villaverde-Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Ceuta, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria Angeles
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Caravaca
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Encarnación
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aguilar Ferrándiz
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Villaverde
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002410:Catholicism / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006296:Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007514:Islam / Q000523:psychology; D007585:Jews / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: culture; gender; health; older people; quality of life