The mediating role of perceived social support between functional status and self-care agency in patients with liver disease: a mediational analysis

Perceived social support is an important factor that facilitates individuals to cope with physical and psychological difficulties and improves health. This study aimed to examine the associations of functional status and perceived social support with self-care agency in patients with liver disease and to investigate the mediating role of perceived social support in the association between functional status and self-care agency. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 92 patients in a gastroenterology clinic. The data were collected using the Patient Description Form, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Self-Care Agency Scale. Correlation/linear regression and mediation analysis were performed to assess the relationships among perceived social support between functional status and self-care agency. The mean Self-Care Agency Scale score was 97.79 ± 19.79. Patients also had good functional status and high self-care agency. There was statistically significant correlation between the patients’ perceived social support with functional status and self-care agency. Perceived social support partially mediated the association between functional status and self-care agency. Findings indicate that perceived social support significantly influences patients’ functional status and self-care agency. It can be recommended to integrate the importance of perceived social support into care and patient/caregiver education.