Quality of life of people wounded in the 2014 conflict in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background In the past 6 years, three conflicts have taken place in the Gaza Strip. The last conflict, in 2014, continued for 51 days and left 2191 people dead and 10 895 wounded. We aimed to assess quality of life of people wounded in the 2014 conflict in the Gaza Strip. Methods A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used in this study. The target population was adults (older than 18 years) who were wounded in the 2014 conflict in Gaza Strip. A snowball technique was used to recruit participants. Organisations that take care of war victims were contacted to recruit participants. Nursing students, friends, and colleagues were asked to recruit participants. Quality of life was assessed with the WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Approval was obtained from the appropriate research organisation in Gaza Strip and participants provided written informed consent. Findings 315 participants were asked to …