Perceived discrimination and health-related quality of life among Arabs and Jews in Israel: a population-based survey

Journal Article

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BMC public health

BMC Public Health

27-May

282

2458-10-282

LR: 20151119; JID: 100968562; OID: NLM: PMC2891650; 2009/03/15 [received]; 2010/05/27 [accepted]; 2010/05/27 [aheadofprint]; epublish

England

1471-2458; 1471-2458

PMID: 20507564

eng

Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; IM

10.1186/1471-2458-10-282 [doi]

Unknown(0)

20507564

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that perceived discrimination may be associated with impaired health. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of perceived discrimination on the basis of origin and ethnicity and measure the association with health in three population groups in Israel: non-immigrant Jews, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and Arabs. METHODS: A cross sectional random telephone survey was performed in 2006 covering 1,004 Israelis aged 35-65; of these, 404 were non-immigrant Jews, 200 were immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 400 were Arabs, the final number for regression analysis was 952. Respondents were asked about their perceived experiences with discrimination in seven different areas. Quality of life, both physical and mental were measured by the Short Form 12. RESULTS: Perceived discrimination on the basis of origin was highest among immigrants. About 30% of immigrants and 20% of Arabs reported feeling discriminated against in areas such as education and employment. After adjusting for socioeconomic variables, discrimination was associated with poor physical health among non-immigrant Jews (OR = 0.42, CI = 0.19, 0.91) and immigrants (OR = 0.51, CI = 0.27, 0.94), but not among Arabs. Poor mental health was significantly associated with discrimination only among non-immigrant Jews (OR = 0.42, CI = 0.18, 0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Perceived discrimination seemed high in both minority populations in Israel (Arabs and immigrants) and needs to be addressed as such. However, discrimination was associated with physical health only among Jews (non-immigrants and immigrants), and not among Arabs. These results may be due to measurement artifacts or may be a true phenomenon, further research is needed to ascertain the results.

Adult, Aged, Arabs/psychology/statistics & numerical data, Cross-Sectional Studies, Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology/statistics & numerical data, Female, Health Status Indicators, Humans, Israel, Jews/psychology/statistics & numerical data, Male, Middle Aged, Odds Ratio, Prejudice, Quality of Life/psychology, Regression Analysis, Surveys and Questionnaires, USSR/ethnology

Epel,O. B., Kaplan,G., Moran,M.

The School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies, University of Haifa, Israel. ornaepel@research.haifa.ac.il

20100527

PMC2891650

http://vp9py7xf3h.search.serialssolutions.com/?charset=utf-8&pmid=20507564

2010