Self-Rated Health and Its Determinants in Female Population in Iran: A Community-Based Study

Background: Self-rated health (SRH), as a single-item self-assessment of health, has been widely used in research on health inequalities in both developed and developing countries. However, limited studies have been conducted on SRH in Iran. The present study aimed to evaluate SRH and its related factors among Iranian women. Methods: In this population-based, cross-sectional study, 1200 women > 18 years old who lived in different districts of Sanandaj, western Iran, in 2012 were randomly selected through stratified cluster sampling. SRH, as the main outcome variable, was categorized as poor or good. The results of evaluation of the associated factors with SRH were presented as odds ratios (OR), and bootstrap method was used to obtain 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: The overall prevalence of poor SRH among women was 37.68% (95% CI: 34.74, 40.61). Even after adjustment for other factors, the most important determinants of poor SRH were old age (OR = 3.92, 95% CI: 2.59, 5.94), being married (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.83), quality of health services (OR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.88), and household's income level (OR = 0.22, CI: 0.14, 0.35). Conclusions: The proportion of poor SRH varied depending on socioeconomic and socio-demographic determinants. As SRH is an important predictor of death, individuals with the related factors, such as advanced age, being married, household's low-income level, and low quality of health services, should be considered as the priority target population.