Health-related quality of life of Palestinian preschoolers in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study

Table 1 Characteristics of 350 preschool children in Gaza, 2007 according to responses to a series of standardized questionnaires administered to their mothers

	% (unless otherwise indicated)
	Study sample (N = 350)	Beit Hanoun (N = 35)
Child factors
Age in months [mean (SD)]	59 (8%)	61 (7%)
Females	49	60
Low birth weight (< 2.5 Kg)	7	9
Adequate nutrition ¹	37	29
Stunting ²	15	9
Number of exposures to violence [mean (SD)]	6 (3%)	12 (3%)
Children with normal mental health	40	14
Children with poor mental health	37	69
Household factors
Maternal age [mean (SD)]	31 (6%)	31 (5%)
Maternal elementary schooling only Education	10	26
Maternal self-rated health as fair or poor	32	40
Poor maternal mental health 3	60	89
Reported any form of social support 4	38	63
Living in a direct military confrontation area	25	94
Family moved in the past 2 years	19	29
Reported any form of deprivation 5	23	54
Receiving food assistance on regular basis	51	91
Average household income in US dollars * [mean (SD)]	205 (174%)	136 (169%)
Family size [mean (SD)]	8 (4%)	10 (4%)
Number of persons in household above 18 years [mean (SD)]	3 (2%)	4 (3%)
Number of children < 18 years [mean (SD)]	5 (3%)	6 (2%)
Number of children < 5 years [mean (SD)]	2 (1%)	3 (1%)

¹ Adequate nutrition: Height-for-age Z-score ≥0
² Stunting: Height-for-age < 2 SD from the population mean
³ Total score on General Health Questionnaire ≥5
⁴The mother had someone to trust, to count on for help, had someone with whom she feels intimacy, or had family and friends that make her happy and secure.
⁵ Family did not have money for living expenses, did not have money to pay the bills, or mother felt her child is deprived
* The estimate was based on 120 households.

ISSN: 1471-2458