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 (r2 = 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.