SOCIO-CULTURAL AND MEDICAL INDICATORS OF THE SCHOOLCHILDREN'S QUALITY OF LIFE

Jelena Petković* and Slobodanka Bašić**

An estimate of life quality is based upon medical, psychological and social indicators. It increasingly engages the attention of doctors of medicine, sociologists and psychologists.
The aim of this research is to headlight some more relevant socio-cultural parametres in order to determine the quality of life of schoolchildren, that is, to determine whether the crisis in which our society has found itself has produced such socio-cultural conditions that could have induced changes in the children's quality of life and, if they have, to what extent the crisis has been reflected upon their health. The research has comprised 398 schoolchildren and their parents, three elementary schools from Nish and one in Sokobanja.
The research of the socio-cultural and medical indicators of their quality of life has shown that the parent's education and ther material position have had an important influence upon the children's life quality.
Since there has been no significant presence of any disease recorded in the observed children's sample, it can be concluded that the socio-cultural features have affected the children's life but they have not any significant impact upon their health. Acta Medica Medianae 2003; 42(1):9-12.

Key words: life quality, health, socio-cultural indicators, schoolchildren