Mediating the Role of Perceived Social Support Between Frailty and Self-Perceived Burden in Elderly Patients with Diabetes

Abstract

Ming-Zhu Chen,1,* Xiao-Lei Chen,2,* Qin Xu,3 Xiao-Dong Cao,2 Meng-Yu Wang,1 Rong Cao1 1Department of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital to Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, 214001, People’s Republic of China; 2Nursing Department, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital to Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, 214001, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qin Xu, School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, No. 101 of Longmian Road, Jiangning District, Nanijing, 211166, People’s Republic of China, Tel [phone], Fax [phone], Email [email protected] Xiao-Dong Cao, Email [email protected]: To explore the mediating effects of perceived social support between frailty and self-perceived burden (SPB) in elderly patients with diabetes and to provide a theoretical basis for reducing that burden.Methods: A total of 169 elderly patients with diabetes who were hospitalised in the endocrinology department of a third-class hospital in Wuxi between May 2020 and July 2022 were included in this study using the convenience sampling method. Patients were assessed by the general information questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Tilburg frailty inventory (TFI), the Self-Perceived Burden Scale (SPBS) and the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS). The SPSS 22.0 software was used for Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Model four of the SPSS PROCESS was used for mediating the effect analysis.Results: The SPBS of elderly patients with diabetes was positively correlated with the TFI (P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with the PSSS (P < 0.01). The results of the Bootstrap test showed that the mediating effect of the PSSS on the relationship between the TFI and the SPBS in elderly patients with diabetes was 0.296 (95% CI: 0.007, 0.066), and the mesomeric effect accounted for 17.3% of the total effect.Conclusion: The debilitation of elderly patients with diabetes can be reduced by decreasing their SPB through perceived social support. This can be achieved through comprehensive interventions by nurses.Keywords: elderly patients with diabetes, frailty, self-perceived burden, mediating effects

Keywords

• elderly patients with diabetes
• frailty
• self-perceived burden
• mediating effects