Relationship of Social Support and Health-related Quality of Life in Patients with Type A Aortic Dissection Post-surgery: The Mediating Role of Self-efficacy

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore whether self-efficacy can mediate the association of social support with physical and mental health in health-related quality of life among Type A aortic dissection patients post-surgery. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 216 Type A aortic dissection patients who underwent surgery from June 2021 to May 2023. Data were collected using the Social Support Rating Scale, Self-efficacy for Chronic Disease 6-item Scale, and Short Form 36 Questionnaire. Asymptotic and resampling strategies were used to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy. Results: Self-efficacy partially mediated the association between support utilization and physical health (a*b=0.29, 95% bootstrap CI: [0.03, 0.70]) and mental health (a*b=0.36, 95% bootstrap CI: [0.06, 0.80]). The proportions of the mediating effect accounting for self-efficacy were 20.10% and 17.81% for physical health and mental health, respectively. Conclusion: The study showed that self-efficacy could mediate the association between support utilization of social support and health-related quality of life. This suggests that self-efficacy appears to be an important target for intervention in improving the health-related quality of life of Type A aortic dissection patients after surgery.

Keywords

Type A aortic dissection / Health-related quality of life / Social support / Self-efficacy

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