Nutrition has been acknowledged as crucial in IBD and is relevant to patients’ motives behind food choices, which are affected by health engagement (HE) and food involvement (FI). This study aimed to profile IBD patients according to their levels of health engagement and food involvement to identify patterns of different motives behind food choices, particularly regarding the use of food to regulate mood. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 890 Italian IBD patients who completed an online survey in April 2021. We measured health engagement, food involvement, motives behind food choices, emotional states, and food-related quality of life (Fr-QoL). K-means cluster analysis was performed to identify participants with similar levels of health engagement and food involvement. Four clusters were identified: “Health-conscious (high HE, low FI)”, “Balanced (high HE, high FI)”, “Hedonist (high FI, low HE)”, and “Careless (low FI, low HE)”. Clusters with high FI are inclined toward seeking pleasurable food, but when supported with high health engagement, individuals were less prone to use food to manage mood. Groups with higher health engagement demonstrated lower hospitalization rates and relapses and better Fr-QoL. Profiling IBD patients regarding FI and HE could aid clinicians in identifying individuals at greater risk of maladaptive food-related behaviors.

Purpose: Engaging patients in their health care management journey has emerged as the requirement of the patient-centered care. Considering as an evidence-based measure, The Patient Health Engagement Scale was developed to evaluate patients’ emotional, behavioral, and cognitive competences during their care. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of PHE-s in Turkish patients with chronic diseases.Materials and Methods: In this methodological study, one hundred and fourteen inpatients with chronic diseases were recruited in June 2018 in a university hospital. Content validity and reliability analysis were conducted. The original scale was translated into Turkish and back into English. Results: The Ordinal alpha was found 0.80, which refers to a good internal consistency. The Rasch analysis demonstrated that the scale is unidimensional. The inter-item polychoric correlation coefficient was equal to 0.61 and every factor loadings in the Categorical Principal Component Analysis were higher than 0.74. Conclusion: Taking into consideration, The Turkish version of the Patient Health Engagement Scale has good psychometric properties for evaluating the patient engagement phases and can be used by the Turkish-speaking community.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine trust levels in the Turkish healthcare system of the patients receiving services from tertiary care institutions and the influencing sociodemographic factors.Materials and Methods: they conducted This descriptive study in inpatient units of six tertiary care hospitals (three training&research hospitals, three university hospitals) located in the center of Ankara among 493 inpatients. Data was collected with a sociodemographic form and Multidimensional Trust in Healthcare Systems Scale.Results: Participants’ mean age was 47.7±13.1; 50.1% were female, 38.3% were graduated from high school, 58.2% were unemployed, 70% had moderate income, 64.7 % were dwelling in rural, and 63.5% were satisfied with the healthcare services. The mean score for the scale was 61.5±8.2, and for healthcare providers, payers, and institutions subscales were as 38.1±5.2, 12.9±3.7, and 10.6±1.9, respectively. Trust in healthcare system was found significantly associated with age, educational level, employment, income, existence of household, residency area, and satisfaction from healthcare services.Conclusion: It is noted that older than sixty-years-old, low-educated, unemployed, low-income, and rural individuals had higher trust in the healthcare system. Because their need for medical information is greater, they are experiencing economic weaknesses, and they are relatively more in need of healthcare services, which increases their trust in the system.

Objective: To examine patient engagement (PE) levels of atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with multimorbidity, to identify distinct personas based on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, as well as engagement levels, and to compare PE in disease management with health-related quality of life, medication adherence, and perceptions of care quality. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Setting: Data were collected through an online survey platform between 31 May 2022 and 31 January 2023 from five European countries (Denmark, Italy, Romania, Spain and the UK). Participants: The study involved 659 AF patients older than 18 years who were diagnosed with one or more concomitant chronic health conditions. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The survey focused on identifying the needs and quality performance indicators (QPIs) of patients. Emotional engagement was evaluated using the Patient Health Engagement Scale (PHE-s), and cognitive-behavioural engagement was assessed using the Altarum Consumer Engagement Measure (ACE). Engagement scores of each measure were grouped as high or low and compared by age group, sex, level of education and country of recruitment, health-related quality of life, medication adherence and perception of care quality using χ ² and Mann‒Whitney U tests (p<0.05). Results: Among the 659 AF patients (70.9±10.2 years, 52.8% female), 428 (65%) were categorised as having high emotional PE levels based on PHE-s and were significantly more likely to be <75 years old and male, have a secondary level of education or above, and have <3 comorbidities (p<0.05). Regarding the ACE scores, 369 (56%) were classified as having high cognitive-behavioural PE levels and were more likely to be <65 years old, reside in Northern Europe, have degree-level education or higher, and have <3 comorbidities (p<0.05). Additionally, participants with high emotional PE demonstrated better quality of life, medication adherence and perceptions of quality of care, whereas those with higher levels of cognitive-behavioural PE had better quality of life and perceptions of quality of care. Conclusions: From a clinical perspective, the findings highlight the need for a personalised approach sensitive to the expectations and needs of AF patients. The present research suggests that implementing sociodemographic and clinical profiling for AF patients could facilitate the formulation of improved care strategies.

This study aims to describe a participatory process by investigating the perceptions and expectations of people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) toward the scientific writing (SW) process and the role of patient engagement and quality of life in influencing them. A two-phase, multi-methods study was conducted inspired by the MULTI-ACT model. Four co-creation workshops were organized, and the results were used to design a survey, which was translated into eight languages and distributed internationally to 1120 patients. The results from the workshops and the survey were collaboratively used to develop a model for engaging patients in SW. Participants expressed a willingness to share their unique experiences of the disease, contribute ideas and words to the project, and engage in research-related problem-solving. The main barriers to patient engagement in SW were identified as physical, psychological, and technical. The survey sample consisted of pwMS primarily from Italy (28.5%), was predominantly female (73.7%), with a mean age of 50.3 years and an average MS diagnosis duration of 13.5 years. Among the participants, 45% had never participated in research initiatives, 89% had never been an author of a scientific publication, and 51% expressed interest in future participation. Patients’ disease awareness and their perception of quality of life may influence their predisposition towards research and SW. Patient co-authors clearly articulated their perspectives on the essential factors required for contributing to the publication process. A more sensitive approach should be adopted in order to take into account the psychosocial conditions of people with multiple sclerosis and what may hinder their participation in research and in writing scientific publications in order to really guarantee equal access to all. Scientists are increasingly recognizing the value that people with lived experience of an illness bring to medical research, including their contributions to planning, managing, and authoring scientific publications. This study involved patients and researchers in a participatory process to highlight the benefits of patient participation in research. A global survey completed by over 1,000 people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) from diverse backgrounds aimed to understand their engagement in research and the factors influencing their participation. The study revealed several barriers that prevent people with progressive MS from fully engaging in the research process. Many participants cited severe fatigue, limited energy, physical isolation, and poor mental health as major obstacles. Perceived quality of life significantly impacted their interest and willingness to participate in research and their confidence in contributing to scientific authorship. Additionally, systemic barriers discouraged patient engagement in research and scientific writing: the need for fluency in English, challenges arising from cultural diversity, lack of confidence in using scientific terminology, and the rigid formats of traditional research and publishing. Poor communication between scientists and patients and a perceived lack of inclusivity also hindered participation. To address these issues, the paper advocates for several measures to promote inclusivity by setting clear communication goals, providing support to overcome language barriers, and creating a support network to address individual patient needs. Institutional, funding, regulatory, and publishing formats should become more flexible and collaborative. Systemic changes are needed to make patient engagement meaningful, accessible, and effective, fostering a respectful two-way dialogue between scientists and patients.

Diet and psychological stress are recognized contributors to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), yet their interaction—particularly stress-induced eating—remains underexplored. This study examined how perceived stress relates to comfort food consumption (CFC) and patient-reported outcomes among individuals with IBD. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 2,254 Italian patients recruited via a national patient organization. Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale, Salzburg Stress Eating Scale, IBD Symptom Inventory, Bristol Stool Chart, and ad hoc items on CFC. Analyses included partial correlations controlling demographic and clinical covariates, group comparisons by stress level and IBD subtype, and latent class analysis (LCA) to identify psychosocial profiles. Participants reported moderate stress and increased CFC under stress. Those with higher perceived stress described greater symptom burden, softer stool consistency, more frequent CFC, and stronger emotional reliance on these foods. The LCA identified two subgroups—one low-stress/low-symptom and another high-stress/high-symptom/high-comfort-food—highlighting a stress-reactive behavioral phenotype. Stress-eating scores and food preferences did not differ by disease subtype, although patients with Crohn’s disease reported higher symptom severity and softer stools. Findings underscore perceived stress as a key psychological correlate of eating behaviors and symptom perception in IBD, supporting the integration of patient-reported experiences into multidisciplinary, engagement-oriented care.