Correlation of Perceived Social Support with Medication Adherence and Quality of Life in Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background/Purpose: It is known that declining social support increases the disease burden in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The association between perceived social support with medication adherence and quality of life in COPD patients is unclear. The aim of this study was to show the correlation of perceived social support with medication adherence and quality of life in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: A descriptive and correlational study was conducted. A Patient Information Form, the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire and the Medication Adherence Report Scale were used to collect data. A total of 221 patients with COPD were included in the study. Descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and Spearman's correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: Perceived social support was negatively correlated with the respiration score (r=-0.23, p≤0.01), and positively with medication adherence (r=0.17, p