Benefit Finding: The Mediator Linking Social Support to Self - Management Efficacy in Gynecological Cancer.

This study aimed to investigate the relationships among benefit finding (BF), self-management efficacy, and social support in patients with gynecologic cancers. A total of 180 patients with gynecological cancer were selected using a convenience sampling methodology from Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Shenzhen, China. The data collection tools included sociodemographic and disease-related information, the Chinese Version of the Benefit Finding Scale (BFS), the Chinese Self-Management Efficacy Scale for Cancer Patients (C-SUPPH), and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple regression. The SPSS 29.0 and the PROCESS 4.2 macro were used to validate the mediating effects. BF was positively correlated with social support (r = 0.235, P < 0.01) and self-management efficacy (r = 0.453, P < 0.01). Social support also showed a correlation with self-management efficacy (r = 0.268, P < 0.01). BF partially mediated the relationship between social support and self-management efficacy, accounting for 36.28% of the total effect. Self-management efficacy in patients with gynecological cancers is at a moderate level. Social support indirectly influences self-management efficacy through BF. Enhancing BF could serve as an effective strategy to improve self-management efficacy in this patient population.