Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Patient Engagement in Health Care Questionnaire.

Abstract

Patient engagement in health care can contribute to improving care quality and safety. A valid measurement is essential for promoting it. The purpose was to develop the Patient Engagement in Health Care Questionnaire and test its psychometric properties. An item pool was generated based on a literature review and qualitative research, and was reviewed by 2 expert panels. Two rounds of survey, with 364 and 433 patients, respectively, were conducted to evaluate psychometric properties of the questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 33 items. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 6-factor model, explaining 67.16% of the variance, which included communication and information exchange, engaging in treatment and care, engaging in decision-making, giving feedback about care quality, monitoring care safety, and choosing health care providers. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 6-factor model fit the data well. The scale-level content validity index, Cronbach α, and test-retest reliability were 0.935, 0.928, 0.882, respectively. The Patient Engagement in Health Care Questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool to assess patient engagement.