Rural environment

Purpose - Quality and living conditions of humans are heavily reliant on their housing. A suitable shelter will prevent illness and damage to a large extent and plays a crucial role in promoting people's mental and physical condition. This study seeks to analyze and evaluate the effects of improving the quality of housing on promoting the physical and mental health of villagers. Design/methodology/approach - This is an applied research that adopts a descriptive-analytical method. The main data collection instrument is a questionnaire. The studied area is Shandiz district in Binalud town, Khorasan Razavi Province. The statistical population of this research consists of 11 villages, which according to 2017 Census accommodated 5921 households. The sample size was estimated at n=190 using the Cochran formula with an error of 0.07%. Data gathering tool comprised interview, field questionnaire and observation. The questionnaire items were designed based on a Likert scale. For the analysis of data, descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation test, single sample t-test and regression) were used in the SPSS software. The villages were ranked by WASPAS analysis (the weighing in WASPAS analysis is based on entropy). Findings - The results of Pearson correlation test showed that the quantitative (0.549), physical (0.513), the socio-cultural (0.505), and the environmental (0.522) dimension were significantly correlated with mental- psychological health. With regard to the physical health, there was only a direct and weak relationship with the physical dimensions (0.149). As for the health variable, the quantitative (0.651), physical (0.623), socio-cultural (0.605) and environmental (0.596) dimensions had a strong direct relationship, meaning that as dimensions of the quality of housing improves, the health of villagers is affected and their physical and mental health is promoted. The results of pathway analysis showed that among independent variables (quantitative, physical, socio-cultural and environmental variables) the quantitative dimension had the highest effect on dependent variable (physical and mental health) with a value of 0.564. Practical implications - According to the results, improving the quality of housing will promote the mental and psychologic health of villagers. Originality/value - Selecting a suitable rural housing model can definitely yield positive outcomes for promotion of health standards both in physical and mental dimensions.