Mediating role of resilience in a relationship between social support and CD4 count of patients living with HIV in Behavioral Diseases Counseling Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an infectious virus that can have devastating effects on physical and mental conditions of patients. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between social support and CD4 count of patients living with HIV in Beha­vioral Diseases Counseling Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Material and methods The present research was a descriptive-analytical study, and included 200 HIV-positive patients from Behavioral Diseases Counseling Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital using available sampling method. Participants responded to social support and resilience scale, and CD4 count was extracted from their files. Structural equation modeling and PLS modeling were applied to analyze data. Results The results showed that social support confirmed 47% of the variance of resilience. Furthermore, social support variables predicted 47.1% of CD4 count changes by calculating this dependent variable, and the rest of explanation related to other factors. Conclusions Based on this study findings, it can be concluded that the structure of resilience can strengthen the effect of social support on CD4 of HIV-positive patients in Behavioral Diseases Counseling Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital, as a mediating variable.