Abstract: Objective: To explore the mediating effect of perceived social support on treatment burden and long-term condition empowerment in older adults. Methods: The Perceived Social Support Scale, Treatment Burden Questionnaire, Long-term Condition Empowerment Scale were used to conduct a questionnaire survey among 460 older adults from 6 nursing homes in Qingdao during January 2021 to August 2021. Results: Treatment burden was significantly negatively associated with perceived social support (P<0.001) and negatively associated with long-term condition empowerment (P<0.001). Perceived social support was significantly positively associated with long-term condition empowerment (P<0.001).The results of Bootstrap test showed that the perceived social support partially mediated the relationship between treatment burden and long-term condition empowerment, accounting for 51.98% of the total effect. Conclusion: Treatment burden not only directly affects long-term condition empowerment, but also indirectly affects long-term condition empowerment through perceived social support.

Key words: older adults; treatment burden; perceived social support; long-term condition empowerment