Published online 2015 April 22. Short Communication The Relationship Between Rural Women’s Health-Related Quality of Life and Domestic Violence

Background: Nowadays, by development of societies, health related quality of life has become a very important issue. Traditionally for health assessment, some indexes such as; morbidity, mortality, and life expectancy, have been taken into consideration but these factors are not able to assess life satisfaction. Objectives: The present study was aimed to investigate the relationship between rural women’s health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and domestic violence. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the rural districts of Kermanshah, Iran, 2012. Using multistage cluster sampling, 394 women were selected. They completed WHOQOL-BREF and Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) questionnaires. Data analyzed by SPSS 16, using Pearson correlation and regression tests. Results: The mean scores of total QOL were 55.8 ± 12.9. There was significant inverse correlation between domestic violence dimensions and all health-related quality of life domains (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Domestic violence can affect rural women’s health-related quality of life negatively. Regarding the hidden nature of domestic violence and its presence in all communities, taking into consideration policies to reduce violence through legal education an