Abstract

The concept of quality of life in the rural context has developed and changed to a great extent since its introduction back in the 1930s. Today, this concept is an important tool in the hands of rural policy-makers and planners for identification and evaluation of current conditions, assessment of the effects of previously implemented policies and determining the direction of future policy-making. This concept includes both the objective and subjective dimensions of rural quality of life. The objective rural quality of life refers to all the facilities and services available to the residents of a rural settlement. The subjective rural quality of life, however, refers to the perception of these facilities and services and the overall satisfaction and happiness of the residents. The present study has been conducted with the aim of analyzing the rural quality of life in Iran. The villages of Hamadan Province, situated west of Iran, were selected as the study area. This study has analyzed the mentality of the village residents based on seven objective indices of quality of life using structural equation modeling and the SmartPLS software. The results indicated that rural housing facilities have been significantly effective in increasing the villagers’ satisfaction and quality of life. Deviation from traditional rural lifestyles and modernization of the villages were also revealed to be among the factors which have reduced the villagers’ quality of life.