Psychometric Testing of a Patient Empowerment, Engagement, and Activation Survey.

Abstract

Patient or person-centered care has become a widely used philosophical framework and yet has varying definitions and characteristics. Person-centered care has recently been conceptualized as patient empowerment, engagement, and activation with studies citing positive outcomes. This study reports the psychometric properties of the Patient Empowerment, Engagement, and Activation Survey. An instrument development and testing approach was used. A 21-item survey was developed demonstrating respectable Cronbach α coefficients for the total scale (α = 0.88) and for each subscale: Empowerment (α = 0.71), Engagement (α = 0.81), and Activation (α = 0.76). A regression analysis with 1 item, "I am ready to be discharged" as the dependent variable and all other items as independent variables explained 65% of the variance in readiness for discharge (P < .001). The Patient Empowerment, Engagement, and Activation Survey can be used to evaluate patients' perspectives of care quality (empowerment and engagement) and readiness for discharge (activation).