Topic: Quality of life

Topic: Quality of life

Introduction

In life, it is the desire of every person to live a life they are proud of. Different groups of people have their definition of what they think quality life is. Quality of life is the general well-being of individuals and societies outlining both negative and positive features of life and observation of life satisfaction in a broad sense, like in the health, education, and the environment, among others, to impact happiness and comfort in life (Griffin, 1986). This aspect involves the expectations of an individual’s well-being, which is influenced by the values and socio-cultural elements in which they live and acts as a reference in which individuals measure various domains of personal life. The well-being of an individual is based on how they understand the meaning and definition of quality of life.

Discussion

Quality of life is full of factors that make it up are intangible and subjective. It can major in various aspects like health, religious beliefs, and the conduciveness of the environment, among others. Several things impact the quality of life like health, air quality, water quality, food quality, the standard of living, among others. Quality of life in health majors on how the individual well- being may be affected with time by either a disease, disability leading to disruption of normal life activities. Quality of life in health status is determined by various factors like the disease severity index, body mass index, gender, depression, among others (Karimi, 2016). ITo ensure quality in the health sector, various surveys have been put into places like Child Health Questionnaire and Infant Toddler Quality of Life that focuses on pediatric and adolescent health-related quality of life (HRQOL.) These assess the child, adolescent, infants’ physical, emotional, and social well-being from their parent’s perspective and also the general welfare of the parent and family.   .

Quality of life in health depends on the disease involved. For example, the effects of dyskinesias in Parkinson’s disease, a European study proved that the cure of Parkinson’s disease with l- DOPA led to involuntary movements that had an impact on the quality of life of patients and health care cost (Pechevis, 2005).

Education is another element that affects people’s well-being. It acts as a source of knowledge, skills, and capacities (Ross, 1997).  It is the light of life since educated people have a better experience, unlike the uneducated. Through education, people can develop their knowledge and skills, and this helps them get employment opportunities, which helps them improve their living standards. It helps people make a balance between their capital and expenditure, a reason to adopt family planning and capability to fulfill their basic needs quickly. Educated people deal with family problems in a practical way, and thus family conflicts caused by misunderstanding will not occur, leading to the creation of a conducive working environment (Murata, 2013).  It also helps individuals make use of new materials and inventions for maintaining the quality of living standards of the family. Education is the best gift every parent should offer to their children.

Employment promotes quality life by provision of financial income, thus economic stability, and also gives people a sense of identity and creates opportunities for social contact with other individuals as they work together. Through the income earned, poverty levels among the individuals are reduced, and the dependency levels reduce, thus increasing psychological satisfaction and self- esteem. Employment improves the health of people through various ways like enhancing mental well-being and mitigating adverse health impacts that come along with economic hardships like schizophrenia, and getting employed speeds up its recovery (Kober, 2015). It helps families meet their daily basic needs, and this promotes happiness and satisfaction in a family, and through this, quality of life is achieved. The creation of jobs should be essential since it will provide several job opportunities for people in a society.

There is an association between life quality and the environment (Das, 2008). The condition of their surrounding environment strongly influences people’s welfare. Some individuals believe that living in a conducive environment makes their life enjoyable. An environment that is free of stress and full of life gives them the happiness they desire in life, and this provides a good factor on the basis of their understanding on what quality of life really entails, and through this, their comfort is achieved which is the main goal of quality of life. The unspoiled environment is an element of satisfaction. It improves mental health and helps individuals get relieved from the stress of everyday life and physical activities. Access to green spaces and rivers is essential for a quality life. The impacts of pollutants and hazardous substances have adverse effects on the lives of individuals in the affected area. Quality of life does not only depend on the physical and social quality of the environment but also people’s interaction with the situation. Environmental quality of life can be determined by the use of environmental quality, behavior, and consumption of ecological services. These factors are related since responsible behavior has a positive impact on the quality of the environment, thus higher use of services provided by the environment (Blick, 2016). Through environmental assets such as water, clean air, and access to green spaces, people benefit through them, and these allow them to meet their daily needs, enjoy free time and company of others (Stremikiene,2014).

Family influences quality of life by growing the relationship we have with our family members, whether immediate or extended, helps improve the overall quality of life. Family bonding forms a healthy relationship. Adequate time spent together with your children, partner, and others help strengthen family ties and foster a family culture on checking the progress of the other, and this brings about peace, calmness, and stability (Basescu, 2016).  It also helps relieve stress through participation in family activities. The creation of happy memories with your family helps you reflect whenever you feel overwhelmed by negative feelings, and also encouraging positive behavior in your children gives them more confidence, more socially -adjusted, and happy. These factors help improve one’s quality of life.

Religious beliefs like hope, optimism, trust, connectedness, and purpose help boost mental health, and this leads to reduced stress and increased resiliency; thus, the quality of life is achieved. Economic freedom helps improve quality of life through the increase of life expectancy, mass education freedom, and conservation of the environment. Life expectancy is an essential measure of well-being and is achieved through the promotion of quality health care, better access to clean water, among others. Education also promotes economic freedom where the learned are less likely to live in poverty since it helps people think critically, acquire valuable skills, and compete effectively in the market field. Wealth promotes quality of life. A larger paycheck could buy you a better quality of life, unlike a small one. Social networking has garnered significant interest from researchers through its association with health. The understanding of the impact of social relationships on health status, health behaviors results in effective interventions for promoting health, thus the quality of life.

Good governance and fundamental rights are other aspects of quality of life. It involves transparency, participation, and accountability (Weiss, 2012). The presence of good governance leads to both economic and political growth. It is about the interaction between governments and social organizations, relationships with citizens, decision making, among others. Recognition of people’s rights in every country gives its citizens confidence that through good governance, their rights are valued and respected, and any violation of any reason by punishable by law. For instance, every citizen has the right to life, and any threat to one’s life should never be taken lightly. Nobody has the mandate to make someone’s life. It’s the right of every person to seek appropriate medication whenever they are ill. Exercising this right has been located in the field of ethics and moral discussion about solidarity. Policies made should comply with citizens’ needs, and recognition of their rights gives them comfort and happiness.

Wealth is another factor that some individuals believe in as a measure of their quality of life. They believe that acquiring and accumulating wealth is living a quality life, and their well-being is sustained. We cannot underrate their understanding of their belief in the quality of life. Everybody in life desires to be wealthy, but to some individuals, being wealthy provides an extraordinary feeling of happiness and comfort. These individuals will use most of their time looking for wealth. Through wealth, they believe they can live a life that pleases them and a life they are proud of. Wealth provides a sense of security and courage, and this makes their life more fulfilling and makes them feel they can achieve anything and everything that they may wish to have in life and through this quality of life is achieved.

Conclusion

Everyone should strive to live a quality life by either acquiring a job, family association, holding to your religious beliefs, getting educated, living a healthy life, social networking, and making sure the environment we live in is conducive to run our daily activities. One should engage in activities that bring them happiness and comfort like hobbies. Quality of life can be improved learning something new every day, debating on something, going for outings, and recognizing what makes you happy and doing it, among others.

References

Basescu, M., and Dovleac, L., 2016. Improving the quality of life in rural Romania through sustainable agriculture. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov. Economic Sciences. Series V, 9(1), p.259.

Blick, R.N., Litz, K.S., Thornhill, M.G., and Goreczny, A.J., 2016. Do inclusive work environments matter? Effects of community-integrated employment on quality of life for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Research in developmental disabilities, 53, pp.358-366.

Das, D., 2008. Urban quality of life: A case study of Guwahati. Social Indicators Research, 88(2), pp.297-310.

Griffin, J., 1986. Well-being: Its meaning, measurement, and moral importance.

Karimi, M., and Brazier, J., 2016. Health, health-related quality of life, and quality of life: what is the difference?. Pharmacoeconomics, 34(7), pp.645-649.

Murata, K., 2013. Construction of an appropriately professional working environment for IT professionals: A key element of quality IT-enabled services. IT Enabled Services (pp. 61-75). Springer, Vienna.

Pechevis, M., Clarke, C.E., Vieregge, P., Khoshnood, B., Deschaseaux‐Voinet, C., Berdeaux, G., Ziegler, M., and Trial Study Group, 2005. Effects of dyskinesias in Parkinson’s disease on quality of life and health‐related costs: a prospective European study. European Journal of Neurology, 12(12), pp.956-963.

Ross, C.E., and Van Willigen, M., 1997. Education and the subjective quality of life. Journal of health and social behavior, pp.275-297.

Streimikiene, D., 2014. Comparative assessment of environmental indicators of quality of life in Romania and Lithuania. Economics & Sociology, 7(1), p.11.

Weiss, T.G., 2012. Governance, good governance, and global governance: conceptual and actual challenges 2000. Thinking about Global Governance (pp. 179-200). Routledge.