Compares perceptions of quality of life and health expressed by Bosnian refugee women, who have experienced war trauma and forced migration, with those of an age-matched group of Swedish women. The study sample consisted of women living in Southern Sweden: 120 18- to 59-year-old women born in Bosnia-Herzegovina and nearly 300 Swedish women in the same age range. A modified version of the G??teborg Quality of Life instrument, translated into Serbo-Croat, was used to measure social and mental well being as well as somatic and psychological symptoms. One of the key findings was that the Bosnian women had, regardless of health status, significantly higher levels of somatic and psychological distress than did the Swedish women in either good or poor health, as indicated by such symptoms as difficulty in relaxing, depression, crying easily, nervousness, nausea, anorexia, and loss of weight. Results also suggested that poor overall health and quality of life among the Bosnian women could not be conclusively attributed to war trauma. Nevertheless, these women represented a disadvantaged segment of the population in need of public health intervention and services.
