Exploring the Role of Social Support in Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for COPD Patients in Primary Care: A Scoping Review

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a prevalent and multidimensional disease that significantly affects patient’s health. Healthcare professionals use patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to classify and better manage the disease. However, PROMs often do not adequately capture important aspects of COPD, such as social support and access to healthcare. Social support is particularly important as it can positively influence PROMs and overall patient’s health. Therefore, the aim of this review was to explore the impact of social support on PROMs in patients with COPD in primary care settings. Methods: Using the PRISMA-Scoping approach, we screened 2038 articles from MEDLINE and COHRANE for potential inclusion. Finally, 10 articles were selected for analysis. Results: Social support was found to have a strong positive effect on PROMs. Various types of social support were observed, and higher levels of social support were associated with better quality of life, mental health, self-care behaviors, self-management, functionality, and less severe COPD. Discussion: This review highlights the positive association between social support and mental health, quality of life, and self-efficacy in patients with COPD. Unfortunately, most research on PROMs in COPD patients has overlooked the importance of social support. Additionally, there is a lack of consensus in the literature regarding the definition and domains of social support. Given this insufficiency in the current literature, future research should focus on understanding the significance of social support in PROMs among primary care patients with COPD. Furthermore, healthcare managers could provide higher levels of social support to improve the quality of life, mental health, and self-efficacy of COPD patients.