Main Socioeconomic Variables Affecting Household Health: A Systematic Review

The socioeconomic factors affecting health include various variables that are not clearly and consistently classified in the studies. This study aimed to identify and classify the main socioeconomic variables affecting household health.

This applied study was conducted with a quantitative approach and a systematic review method in 2019. A systematic review of the studies with PRISMA protocol was used to search and identify the main socioeconomic variables affecting household health in international and national scientific databases. The inclusion criteria included focusing on socioeconomic variables affecting health at the household level, providing a specific model for influencing socioeconomic variables on health, publishing in English or Persian, and accessing the full text of the study. The qualitative evaluation of the studies as well as their conformity with the inclusion and exclusion criteria, were performed by peer review. All socioeconomic variables were extracted in researcher-made form, classified using MAXQDA 2018 software and finally synthesized narratively.

Twenty-one conceptual models were identified to influence socioeconomic factors on household health. Researchers and international organizations provided all models, and no native models were found in Persian regarding socioeconomic factors affecting household health. Content analysis of the studies showed that the three main variables of education, income and employment in all models (100%) were used as socioeconomic factors affecting health. After that, household health behaviors (81%), age (71%), family support (71%), housing area per capita (67%), place of residence (67%), social capital (62%) and gender (57%) were the most commonly used socioeconomic variables affecting household health respectively.

In addition to vital socioeconomic variables (education, income, and employment), other contextual variables such as household health behaviors, family support, per capita housing area, and social capital need to be considered for policy interventions. In addition, it is suggested that a native model of socioeconomic factors affecting health be designed for Iranian households' socioeconomic conditions.