The effect of using virtual social networks with the role of mediating quality of life on general health of War veterans and disabled athletes in Iran

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using virtual social networks with the mediating role of quality of life on general health of veteran and disabled athletes in Iran.

The research method is descriptive and correlational. The statistical population of this study consisted of all veteran and handicapped athletes of Iran in 1977. The sampling method was multistage cluster random sampling. According to Morgan table, the sample size was 384 and a total of 390 questionnaires were collected. A researcher-made questionnaire on the use of virtual social networks, Roland et al (2006) and Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using one-sample t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression coefficient and SPSS software version 22 at the significant level of 0.05.

The results showed that there is no significant relationship between virtual social networks and public health, but the mediating effect of quality of life in the causal relationship between social networks and public health is significant (P≥0.001).

It seems that social networking as a supporter and enhancer can improve the quality of life and consequently promote public health.