Abstract
BackgroundSocial support has been considered one of the most important factors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) evaluations among different populations; however, few studies have explored the relationships of both received and perceived social support to HRQoL among patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Thus, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to clarify these relationships.MethodsParticipants were patients admitted at the two largest privately and publicly funded MMT clinics in Xi’an. The main explanatory variable was social support, both received (i.e., social network support and professional support services) and perceived (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support). The outcome was HRQoL, which was evaluated using the Short-Form 36 Health Survey version 2 (SF-36v2) and the Quality of Life Scale for Drug Addicts (QOL-DAv2.0). We carried out independent samples t-tests and multiple linear regression analysis to examine the relationships between received and perceived social support and HRQoL.ResultsThe study findings revealed that patients with good social support had significantly higher scores on the SF-36v2 and QOL-DAv2.0 (p < 0.05). After controlling for individual characteristics, the significant factors predicting HRQoL were good family relationships, usually communicating with others, a convenient service time, appropriate treatment charges, and good perceived social support (p < 0.05).ConclusionsOur results suggest that received and perceived social support influences HRQoL among individuals receiving MMT. Thus, these variables should be considered during health management efforts and interventions directed at this patient population.
Highlights
Social support has been considered one of the most important factors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) evaluations among different populations; few studies have explored the relationships of both received and perceived social support to HRQoL among patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT)
We comprehensively explored the relationships between objective and subjective forms of social support and HRQoL, among MMT patients from Mainland China
Short-Form 36 Health Survey version 2 (SF-36v2) Short-Form 36 Health Survey Version 2 PCS physical component summary MCS mental component summary QOL-DAv2.0 Quality of Life Scale for Drug Addicts MMT methadone maintenance treatment 95% CI 95% confidence interval having a convenient service time, not having appropriate treatment charges, and not having good perceived social support (p < 0.05; Table 3)
Summary
Social support has been considered one of the most important factors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) evaluations among different populations; few studies have explored the relationships of both received and perceived social support to HRQoL among patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a multifactorial construct describing individuals’ perceptions of their own physical, psychological, and social functioning [1]. It has been regarded as a valuable patient-reported outcome in evaluations of therapeutic effectiveness and health for patients undergoing methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) [2]. Numerous published studies have explored the determinants of HRQoL [7,8,9], among which the most important may be social support [10,11,12]
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