Acceptance of disability, coping style, perceived social support and quality of life among patients with chronic lymphedema: a cross-sectional study

To examine acceptance of disability, coping style, perceived social support, and quality of life and to explore the relationships between acceptance of disability, coping style, perceived social support, and quality of life among Chinese patients with chronic lymphedema.Chronic lymphedema patients were recruited from five tertiary hospitals between May and July 2020 in China. Recruited patients were assessed for quality of life (QOL), acceptance of disability (AOD), coping styles, perceived social support (PSS), and sociodemographic and disease-related factors. Multivariate linear regression models were conducted to examine the multivariate effect of AOD, coping style, PSS, and sociodemographic and disease-related factors on QOL.A total of 163 chronic lymphedema patients were recruited. The mean score of QOL was 2.23 (SD = 0.68). AOD, number of symptoms, acceptance-resignation, avoidance, degree of pain, PSS, and educational level were found to be significant predictors of QOL.Chinese patients with chronic lymphedema had moderate levels of QOL. The QOL and specific domains of patients were affected by different factors. Special attention and targeted interventions should be given to improve patients' QOL.