The structural model of health literacy on cancer autonomy in patients with cancer: The role of social support

Health literacy is one of the important areas in research related to cancer and preventive behaviors that play an important role in improving health outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural pattern of health literacy on cancer self-efficacy with the mediating role of social support in cancer patients.

The method of this research was cross-sectional modeling of structural equations. The statistical population included all female patients with breast cancer who referred to Shahid Rahimi Hospital of Khorramabad city, Lorestan, Iran, for follow-up treatment between the beginning of summer 2019 and the end of spring 2020, and 300 of them were selected using available sampling method. They then completed the Health Literacy Scale-Short Form (HLS-SF), Cancer Behavior Inventory-‎Brief Version (CBI-B), and ‎the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ)‎. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling inAmos statistical software.

The results of data analysis showed that health literacy and social support have a significant relationship with cancer self-efficacy. The results of modeling the structural equations showed the fit of the model with the experimental data. Health literacy had a significant direct effect on cancer self-efficacy (P < 0.01). Moreover, due to social support, health literacy had an indirect and significant effect on cancer self-efficacy (P < 0.01).

Health literacy and social support play an important role in increasing cancer self-efficacy in breast cancer patients.