Structural Equation Modeling of Relationships between Social Support, Self-Efficacy, and Quality of Life in Patients with Heart Failure

Background: Heart failure, with a very high disability, leads to reduced quality of life. Variables such as self-efficacy and social support have a very much impact on the quality of life of patients. This study aimed to determine the relationship between variables selfefficacy and social support with quality of life in patients with heart failure. Methods: Participants were 298 heart failure (HF) patients of Farabi hospital in Mashhad. They have completed the social support questionnaire (12 items, Zimet and et al.), Self-efficacy (10 items, Schwarzer and et al.), and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire MLHFQ (21 Rector). Results: Confirmatory analysis method and path analysis showed that the quality of life of patients with heart failure is affected by social support and self-efficacy. Therefore, social support has a positive effect on quality of life. Self-efficacy has also been able to mediate the relationship between social support and the quality of life, as its path coefficient was equal to 0.38. Multiple indices such as RMSEA (0.078) and GFI (0.93) were used to evaluate the model. The proposed model fits the data. Conclusions: It seems that social support directly and through selfefficacy can improve the quality of life of patients with heart failure.