Disease Acceptance and Control from the Subjective Health Experience Model as Health Perception Predictors in...

Background/Objectives: The multifactorial nature of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) requires integrating pathophysiological understanding with subjective patient experiences. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are a useful tool for incorporating this in routine clinical practice. However, current PROMs do not fully encompass the complete subjective health experiences (SHE) of patients and are thus insufficient for guiding truly personalised care. The SHE model provides insights into SHE through the determinants of disease acceptance and perceived control. While validated across various demographics, its predictive power in IMIDs cohorts remains unexplored. This study aims to assess whether acceptance and perceived control in the SHE model predict health experiences in patients with IMID and how these immunological conditions compare. Methods: Questionnaires regarding health perception, acceptance, control, and subjective health experiences were distributed to 450 Dutch citizens. Descriptive statistics, reliability checks, and partial least squares structural equation modelling were used to examine relationships between variables. Results: Health perception strongly predicts SHE through acceptance and control. Across all conditions, the pathway moves from health perception to control, then to acceptance, and finally to SHE. However, the roles of acceptance and control differ by condition. In burdensome diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis, acceptance plays a greater role, while control has a stronger influence in conditions like psoriasis. Conclusions: This study supports the predictive validity of the SHE model for IMIDs, showing that disease acceptance and control affect health experiences differently across conditions. These insights improve the understanding of psychological factors in health experiences and call for tailored interventions for patients with IMID.