Assessment of the health status and needs of Bahraini women

This was a cross-sectional study designed to examine the perceived and actual health status, health practices and needs for Bahraini women aged 18 to 64 years, while examining the reliability and validity of the SF-36 scale with Bahraini population, during the period August to October 2009. The SF-36 Health Status Survey (Arabic Version), a structured questionnaire, and medical chart reviews for chronic conditions were used. In addition, women’s blood pressure, weight and height were measured. A systematic random sample of 258 women was selected from local health centers. The SF-36 perceived health status scale was found to be reliable and valid when used with this population. The perceived health status scores for Bahraini women were similar to the Arabic populations and different from US populations. Obesity, anemia, hyperlipidemia, diabetes and hypertension were identified as the most common women’s health problems in Bahrain. Bahraini women identified access to women’s health specialists, annual screening for chronic conditions, nutritional, health education, and exercise programs as their highest priority health care needs.