Association between perceived social support and self-management in people with multiple sclerosis: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: The physiological and psychological limitations resulting from multiple sclerosis (MS) can decrease social interactions. Furthermore, self-management has become popular in the control of chronic diseases such as MS. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between perceived social support and self-management in MS patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted for the years 2019-2020. Patients were recruited through the MS clinic located in Kashani Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, by convenience sampling. The research was performed on a group of 212 MS patients who completed a Medical outcome study social support scale (MOS-SSS), the MS Self-Management Scale, and basic clinical and demographic data. SPSS 20 software was used to analyze the collected data. Results: The study sample included 57 men and 155 women (73.1%). Examining the relationship between perceived social support and self-management revealed a strong correlation between them (r(2) = 0.60, P < 0.001). The results of regression analysis showed that self-management in people with academic education was statistically significantly greater than in those without (b [Standard Error] = 6.83 [2.58], P = 0.009). Furthermore, the amount of perceived social support was increasing significantly for females in comparison to males (b [SE] = 6.04 [1.58], P = 0.03). Moreover, the mean of perceived social support was greater between married (b [SE] = 3.31 [1.56], P = 0.007) people and also between academic (b [SE] = 7.43 [3.56], P = 0.03) MS patients. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that social support was associated with self-management in MS patients. This understanding should be applied in clinical practice when targeting and designing education, support, and care for MS patients.