investigating the perceived social support in aging and its related factors in the elderly of neyshabur, iran

Background: one of the most important stages of human life is the aging period, which is associated with many challenges and developments. therefore, it is necessary to pay special heed to the physical and psychological conditions of the elderly. the aim of this study was to investigate the perceived social support (pss) and its related factors in the elderly in neyshabur in 2023. methods: in this cross-sectional study, 481 elderly people referred to comprehensive health services centers in neyshabur city in 2023 were enrolled in the study by stratified random sampling. data collection was done using demographic questionnaires and the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (mspss). to investigate the relationship between demographic variables and pss score, univariate analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used in spss version 16.0. results: the mean (±sd) age of the participants in this study was 68.89±7.32 years. additionally, the mean (±sd) score of pss was 54.35±20.68. most of the participants (44.9%) had a moderate level of pss. based on the results of multiple linear regression analysis, there was only a statistically significant relationship between pss level and anxiety (b=-0.411, p<0.001). conclusion: the findings of this study indicated that the pss level of most of the elderly was moderate. therefore, it is recommended that policymakers in the field of aging focus on mental factors in the elderly and their families in order to make policies and provide better services to improve their pss.