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Ghaffary fard M, mohammadi R. (2022). Spatial Measurement of the Composite Quality of Life Index in Different Provinces of Iran Using TOPSIS - AHP Model. refahj. 21(83), : 2
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Introduction: In developed countries, improving the quality of life and social welfare is one of the important goals of economic policy in society, which in developing countries, along with economic growth, is considered as one of the main components and goals of development. On the one hand, quality of life has always been considered by planners in different countries of the world due to the wide range of dimensions of human life. On the other hand, the expansion of urban life and the overpopulation of people in cities have forced experts to conduct more research study studies. According to available statistics, about 50% of the world’s population lives in cities, and this number is likely to increase in the coming years. These statistics show that people prefer to live in cities in order to achieve appropriate and sufficient facilities to provide the best needs of their lives (Baskha et al., 2010: 96). Therefore, development planning policymakers must plan in such a way that social justice, development and social welfare are ensured in all parts of the country to prevent population congestion in a particular area. Quality of life is not a new concept; it dates back to Aristotle’s time when he referred to the quality of life in the discussion of happiness. New philosophers such as Erckard, Jean-Paul Sartre, and other ancient Greek philosophers also had references (Ghaffari & Omidi, 2009: 3). The term quality of life was first coined by a man named Pigou in 1920 in a book entitled Economics and Welfare. But at present in the economic literature, there is no single definition of this word (Mitchell, 2000: 153-163). Given that the quality of life in the provinces and cities is of particular importance, so far there are no specific factors to measure the quality of life. Therefore, addressing the various components for measuring it can provide appropriate and practical ways to achieve a comprehensive system for measuring quality of life. However, due to the expansion of the concept of quality of life, whether globally, regionally, nationally and even locally, with many different factors and with study approaches governing those communities and due to the existence of statistics and the absence of some necessary statistics and special research conditions, has been studied. In view of the aforementioned cases, since in today’s world, the level of enjoyment and satisfaction of people with life provides the most important opportunity for them to have a happy life, in addition to evaluating the quantity of life, quality of life evaluation has a special value. Considering the value of quality of life assessment, this article is entitled “Spatial Measurement of the Composite Quality of Life Index in Different Provinces of Iran”. The purpose of this study is to identify and rank the components of quality of life in the provinces of Iran and to propose appropriate and practical solutions in this regard. In this article, after stating the introduction, research background and theoretical foundations are presented, followed by quality of life indicators are identified and its degree of importance is ranked by experts.
Method: The main purpose of the research is to measure the spatial composition of the quality of life index in different provinces of Iran, which is a cross-sectional study and the data of 2016 have been used. This research has been done using the library and field study, which has identified and compiled quality of life indicators from the library method, and from the statistical yearbook, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the population registration organization, including official bodies and Country is valid, relevant data was collected. In the field research method, the news survey was conducted by distributing a questionnaire. Four main indicators and 26 sub-indicators were used in this research to measure the quality of life. The economic factor has factors (GDP per capita, Gini coefficient, inflation rate, average household food and non-food expenditure, unemployment rate, average household income), infrastructure factor with factors (mobile phone per capita, Internet coefficient, access to railways) and the education component also has indicators (per capita teacher to student, literacy rate, ratio of level to literacy of women to men, number of specialists, number of students to the total population) , and social and health factors including per capita homicide, per capita theft, per capita drug use, per capita suicide, per capita stabbing and extortion, divorce rate, per capita sports, per capita library members, life expectancy at birth, per capita number of doctors, per capita Health centers are per capita hospital beds. The AHP method was used for proper weighting of the expressed factors, and in the next step, the points of the provinces have been determined and ranked using the TOPSIS method.
Findings: According to the experts in this study, among the main indicators, the economic index with a weight of 0.376 is in the highest rank and the infrastructure index with a weight of 0.132 is in the lowest rank. Among the sub-indicators, the highest rank is per capita GDP and the lowest rank is per capita murder and per capita stabbing and extortion. Among the economic sub-indices, the GDP per capita index has the highest rank and the inflation rate index has the lowest rank, in the sub-indices of infrastructure, access to railways has the highest rank and the Internet coefficient has the lowest rank, and in the education index the highest rank has the number of specialists and The student has the lowest rank to the whole population and is ranked first among the sub-indices, social and health index, per capita health centers, and premeditated murder and stabbing and extortion per capita in the recent past. As a result, in terms of quality of life, Tehran province with a weight of 0.351 is in the first place with a large distance compared to other provinces and Bushehr, Isfahan and Fars provinces are in the second to fourth place with 0.097, 0.096 and 0.087 weight respectively. The provinces of North Khorasan, Sistine and Baluchistan and South Khorasan with a weight of 0.0319, 0.0304 and 0.0269, respectively, are in the latest category in terms of quality of life.
Discussion: In general, the term quality of life refers to the environment in which people live, such as quality of housing, pollution, and some of the characteristics that people enjoy, like health (Passion, 1995: 45). On the other hand, quality of life means feeling satisfied and having a good life. The quality of life of individuals and groups is related to the actual level of well-being experienced by them in general socio-economic conditions (Müller & Schaller, 1983). Quality of life reflects the general social and economic characteristics of a society, which is a powerful tool for monitoring development planning and also a measure for meeting the psychological, spiritual and material needs of the family and society (Paul & Cumber, 2005:326). A definition by the World Health Organization in 1993 that defines quality of life as a mental concept based on which it argues that an individual’s understanding of his or her life situation in terms of culture and value system in his or her life, in relation to these are his goals, expectations, standards, and concerns.
Table No. (1) - Spatial measurement of the combined quality of life index in different provinces of Iran
Introduction: In developed countries, improving the quality of life and social welfare is one of the important goals of economic policy in society, which in developing countries, along with economic growth, is considered as one of the main components and goals of development. On the one hand, quality of life has always been considered by planners in different countries of the world due to the wide range of dimensions of human life. On the other hand, the expansion of urban life and the overpopulation of people in cities have forced experts to conduct more research study studies. According to available statistics, about 50% of the world’s population lives in cities, and this number is likely to increase in the coming years. These statistics show that people prefer to live in cities in order to achieve appropriate and sufficient facilities to provide the best needs of their lives (Baskha et al., 2010: 96). Therefore, development planning policymakers must plan in such a way that social justice, development and social welfare are ensured in all parts of the country to prevent population congestion in a particular area. Quality of life is not a new concept; it dates back to Aristotle’s time when he referred to the quality of life in the discussion of happiness. New philosophers such as Erckard, Jean-Paul Sartre, and other ancient Greek philosophers also had references (Ghaffari & Omidi, 2009: 3). The term quality of life was first coined by a man named Pigou in 1920 in a book entitled Economics and Welfare. But at present in the economic literature, there is no single definition of this word (Mitchell, 2000: 153-163). Given that the quality of life in the provinces and cities is of particular importance, so far there are no specific factors to measure the quality of life. Therefore, addressing the various components for measuring it can provide appropriate and practical ways to achieve a comprehensive system for measuring quality of life. However, due to the expansion of the concept of quality of life, whether globally, regionally, nationally and even locally, with many different factors and with study approaches governing those communities and due to the existence of statistics and the absence of some necessary statistics and special research conditions, has been studied. In view of the aforementioned cases, since in today’s world, the level of enjoyment and satisfaction of people with life provides the most important opportunity for them to have a happy life, in addition to evaluating the quantity of life, quality of life evaluation has a special value. Considering the value of quality of life assessment, this article is entitled “Spatial Measurement of the Composite Quality of Life Index in Different Provinces of Iran”. The purpose of this study is to identify and rank the components of quality of life in the provinces of Iran and to propose appropriate and practical solutions in this regard. In this article, after stating the introduction, research background and theoretical foundations are presented, followed by quality of life indicators are identified and its degree of importance is ranked by experts.
Method: The main purpose of the research is to measure the spatial composition of the quality of life index in different provinces of Iran, which is a cross-sectional study and the data of 2016 have been used. This research has been done using the library and field study, which has identified and compiled quality of life indicators from the library method, and from the statistical yearbook, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the population registration organization, including official bodies and Country is valid, relevant data was collected. In the field research method, the news survey was conducted by distributing a questionnaire. Four main indicators and 26 sub-indicators were used in this research to measure the quality of life. The economic factor has factors (GDP per capita, Gini coefficient, inflation rate, average household food and non-food expenditure, unemployment rate, average household income), infrastructure factor with factors (mobile phone per capita, Internet coefficient, access to railways) and the education component also has indicators (per capita teacher to student, literacy rate, ratio of level to literacy of women to men, number of specialists, number of students to the total population) , and social and health factors including per capita homicide, per capita theft, per capita drug use, per capita suicide, per capita stabbing and extortion, divorce rate, per capita sports, per capita library members, life expectancy at birth, per capita number of doctors, per capita Health centers are per capita hospital beds. The AHP method was used for proper weighting of the expressed factors, and in the next step, the points of the provinces have been determined and ranked using the TOPSIS method.
Findings: According to the experts in this study, among the main indicators, the economic index with a weight of 0.376 is in the highest rank and the infrastructure index with a weight of 0.132 is in the lowest rank. Among the sub-indicators, the highest rank is per capita GDP and the lowest rank is per capita murder and per capita stabbing and extortion. Among the economic sub-indices, the GDP per capita index has the highest rank and the inflation rate index has the lowest rank, in the sub-indices of infrastructure, access to railways has the highest rank and the Internet coefficient has the lowest rank, and in the education index the highest rank has the number of specialists and The student has the lowest rank to the whole population and is ranked first among the sub-indices, social and health index, per capita health centers, and premeditated murder and stabbing and extortion per capita in the recent past. As a result, in terms of quality of life, Tehran province with a weight of 0.351 is in the first place with a large distance compared to other provinces and Bushehr, Isfahan and Fars provinces are in the second to fourth place with 0.097, 0.096 and 0.087 weight respectively. The provinces of North Khorasan, Sistine and Baluchistan and South Khorasan with a weight of 0.0319, 0.0304 and 0.0269, respectively, are in the latest category in terms of quality of life.
Discussion: In general, the term quality of life refers to the environment in which people live, such as quality of housing, pollution, and some of the characteristics that people enjoy, like health (Passion, 1995: 45). On the other hand, quality of life means feeling satisfied and having a good life. The quality of life of individuals and groups is related to the actual level of well-being experienced by them in general socio-economic conditions (Müller & Schaller, 1983). Quality of life reflects the general social and economic characteristics of a society, which is a powerful tool for monitoring development planning and also a measure for meeting the psychological, spiritual and material needs of the family and society (Paul & Cumber, 2005:326). A definition by the World Health Organization in 1993 that defines quality of life as a mental concept based on which it argues that an individual’s understanding of his or her life situation in terms of culture and value system in his or her life, in relation to these are his goals, expectations, standards, and concerns.
Table No. (1) - Spatial measurement of the combined quality of life index in different provinces of Iran
| Provinces | The combined process of indicators | Rank | Provinces | The combined process of indicators | Rank |
| 0.0482 | Semnan | 17 | 0.3515 | Tehran | 1 |
| 0.0475 | Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari | 18 | 0.0969 | Bushehr | 2 |
| 0.0467 | Hamedan | 19 | 0.0960 | Esfahan | 3 |
| 0.0451 | Zanjan | 20 | 0.0872 | Fars | 4 |
| 0.0447 | Qom | 21 | 0.0837 | Mazandaran | 5 |
| 0.0445 | Azerbaijan Western | 22 | 0.0830 | Khuzestan | 6 |
| 0.0429 | Ardabil | 23 | 0.0814 | Khorasan Razavi | 7 |
| 0.0408 | Ilam | 24 | 0.0775 | Alborz | 8 |
| 0.0407 | Lorestan | 25 | 0.0672 | Yazd | 9 |
| 0.0401 | Golestan | 26 | 0.0670 | Azarbaijan East | 10 |
| 0.0383 | Kohgiloyeh and Boyerahmad | 27 | 0.0617 | Gilan | 11 |
| 0.0365 | Kurdistan | 28 | 0.0605 | Makazi | 12 |
| 0.0319 | Khorasan North | 29 | 0.0602 | Qazvin | 13 |
| 0.0304 | Sistan and Baluchestan | 30 | 0.0541 | Kerman | 14 |
| 0.0269 | Khorasan southern | 31 | 0.0528 | Hormozgan | 15 |
| 0.0504 | Kermanshah | 16 |
Number Chart (1)- Spatial measurement of the combined quality of life index in different provinces of Iran
Source of research findings
Source of research findings
Authors, Contribution
All authors have contributed to this article.
Funding
No financial support has been received for this article from any individual or organization.
Conflict of interest
The authors stated that there is no conflict of interest
Adherence to research ethics
In the present study, all ethical considerations, including the condition of fidelity, honesty and non-plagiarism, have been observed.
All authors have contributed to this article.
Funding
No financial support has been received for this article from any individual or organization.
Conflict of interest
The authors stated that there is no conflict of interest
Adherence to research ethics
In the present study, all ethical considerations, including the condition of fidelity, honesty and non-plagiarism, have been observed.
Type of Study: review |
Received: 2020/09/12 | Accepted: 2021/11/29 | Published: 2022/03/16
Received: 2020/09/12 | Accepted: 2021/11/29 | Published: 2022/03/16
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