[Association between perceived social support and quality of life in patients with heart failure]

ABSTRACT

Patient with heart failure have a low quality of life because of experiencing emotional, financial, and physical pressures. Perceived social support plays an important role in health maintenance and reducing negative effects of environmental and social related stressors. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the association between perceived social support and quality of life in patients with heart failure. It was cross- sectional, correlational study. The study sample consisted of heart failure patients admitted to Hamedan city educational heart centers from 2008. Sixty patients were recruited by purposeful sampling. Data was collected by Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire [MLHFQ] and perceived social support in heart failure questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS-PC [v.13]. The finding indicated that%46.7 of the patients have enjoyed moderate levels of quality of life and%61.7 have enjoyed low levels of perceived social support. There was a significant relationship between perceived social support and quality of life [r=0.721, p=0.00]. The results reveals the importance of health sector professionals' attention to perceived social support. Therefore nurses should pay more attention to designing supportive and effective care programs to help to promote the quality of life of these patients