Social Support and Sense of Coherence of Patients With Stroke: The Chain Mediating Roles of Health Literacy and Hope

Although social support has a positive effect on sense of meaning, its underlying mechanisms are still unclear. This study aimed to explore the chain mediating effects of health literacy and hope on the relationship between social support and sense of coherence in patients with stroke. A total of 296 patients with stroke were recruited from September 2023 to April 2024 from a tertiary care hospital in Henan Province. A demographic and clinical information sheet, Sense of Coherence Scale-13, Social Support Rate Scale, All Aspects of Health Literacy Scale, and Herth Hope Index were used. A chain mediation model was constructed using the PROCESS macro to examine the mediating roles of health literacy and hope in the relationship between perceived social support and sense of coherence. The study showed that health literacy and hope act as a chain mediators between social support and sense of coherence. Medical staff should pay attention to the balance between the mode and content of information transmission, so as to avoid the negative impact of over-interpretation or negative cognition of health information on patients.