Perceived Social Support and Anxiety among Chronic Hepatitis-C Patients

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship of perceived social support (PSS) and anxiety among patients of Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC). METHODS: It is a cross sectional survey conducted from March 2021 to December 2021 in different hospitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Sampling was done through purposive and snowball technique. Self-administered and standardized questionnaires were used. To analyze perceived social support and anxiety, perceived social support “scale” and Beck anxiety inventory were used in patients of Hepatitis C. Patients Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) positive HCV patients between the ages 31 to 50 years were included. Patients with comorbid conditions and other than 31 to 50 years of age were excluded from the study. RESULTS: Out of 250, males were 185(74%) and females 65(26%). Ages were between 31 to 50 years. PSS in both males and females was 49.8 and 49 (p=0.63%) with anxiety level 44.63 and 56.18 (p=0.00) respectively. There was no significant gender differences on PSS but women had significantly higher on anxiety (M = 56.18, SD = 11.36) with moderate effect size (>.05). PSS had significant negative correlation with anxiety (r = -.31, p < .05). CONCLUSION: Anxiety is more common in females and perceived social support has negative correlation with anxiety in patients of Chronic Hepatitis C.