Understanding the relationship between eHealth literacy, self-efficacy, social support, and patient activation in...

Patient activation is essential for effective self-management among breast cancer patients, yet the mechanisms through which eHealth literacy contributes to it remain incompletely understood.

This investigation sought to delineate the chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and social support linking eHealth literacy to patient activation among breast cancer populations.

316 breast cancer patients were recruited into a cross-sectional survey framework. Each participant underwent an evaluation of their levels of patient activation, perceived social support, self-efficacy, and eHealth literacy. After controlling relevant factors, model 6 in PROCESS 4.1 was applied to construct a chain mediation model; the bootstrapping procedure was subsequently applied to verify the mediating pathways.

eHealth literacy showed a significant association with patient activation (p < 0.001) and demonstrated meaningful positive associations with self-efficacy and social support (p < 0.01). Chain mediation analysis revealed that social support and self-efficacy acted as sequential intermediaries transmitting the influence of eHealth literacy onto patient activation. The aggregate indirect effect accounted for 35.7%, with all pathway confidence intervals excluding zero.

Among breast cancer patients, eHealth literacy was associated with patient activation through sequential mediation by social support and self-efficacy. These findings suggest that strategies to strengthen patients' eHealth literacy, mobilize social support, and build self-efficacy may hold promise for promoting active participation in health self-management, although the effectiveness of such interventions warrants confirmation in future longitudinal or intervention studies.