Title : Disability, anxiety, and perceived social support in couples of young stroke patients from a binary perspective: Structural equation modeling analysis
Abstract:
Background: The literature from the binary perspective of patients and caregivers shows that the factors affecting the physical and mental health of patients and their caregivers are mainly divided into three aspects: physiological, psychological, and social. The long-term coexistence and mutual influence of anxiety and social support between stroke patients and caregivers. However, in the process of disease affecting health, there is no clear answer to how physiology, psychology, and society intertwine.
Objective: This study aims to use a theoretical model to investigate the relationship between disability, anxiety, social support, and quality of life among middle-aged and young stroke patients and their spouses.
Design: A longitudinal study was conducted in the neurology and rehabilitation departments of six tertiary hospitals in Henan Province, China.
Settings: The research data was collected from six tertiary hospitals in Henan, China. Participants: This study included 168 pairs of middle-aged and young stroke patients admitted to neurology and rehabilitation departments, as well as their partner caregivers.
Methods: Using a convenience sampling method, a longitudinal follow-up survey was conducted to obtain data. All variables were measured using standardized instruments. Using structural equation modeling analysis to test a hypothesis model that suggests that the degree of disability in patients has a direct and indirect impact on the quality of life of patients and their spouse caregivers through anxiety and social support. The response rate was 82.8 %.
Results: The findings supported the hypothesized model. The anxiety of spouse caregivers has a significant mediating effect between the degree of disability and the physical health of patients. The anxiety of patients has a significant mediating effect between the degree of disability and their own mental health, and the chain mediating effect between the anxiety of patients and their own social support is significant. We also found that The anxiety of spouse caregivers has a significant mediating effect between the degree of disability and the mental health of spouse caregivers, suggesting that the degree of disability of patients can promote the anxiety of spouse caregivers, which in turn leads to the impairment of their own mental health.
Conclusions: This mechanism emphasizes the importance of treating couples with stroke as a whole. It is suggested that attention should be paid to depression, anxiety and stress on both sides, and to improve the mental health of patients by increasing their perceived social level.
