Objectives: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is
an essential dimension of overall human quality of life,
in which disparities have been hypothesised between
women and men, as well as between citizens and
non-citizens of a country in past literatures. This study
is to evaluate and compare the HRQoL of citizens and
non-citizens living in greater Kuala Lumpur and Johor
Bahru, as well as comparing HRQoL between genders.
Materials and Methods: The SF-8 questionnaire was
used to collect information from 1,708 respondents
(1,032 Malaysian citizens and 676 non-citizens),
via face-to-face interview between October and
December 2015.
Results: Overall, respondents reported moderate
HRQoL. Non-citizens reported better HRQoL than the
Malaysian citizens, while men reported better HRQoL
compared to women (for both citizens and non-citizens).
Conclusions: The HRQoL of both citizens and noncitizens’
in Malaysia could be improved. Measures should
be taken to remove the disparity in HRQoL between
men and women, aiming to achieve equal health status
for both genders.