Patient Activation Intervention Research Articles

Examining implementation of a patient activation and self-management intervention within the context of an effectiveness trial.

This qualitative study examines factors important for delivering a patient activation/self-management intervention in 13 mental health clinics within the context of an effectiveness trial to inform understanding of real-world implementation. Eighteen key personnel were interviewed about the following factors relative to the intervention and its delivery: alignment with organization values/patient needs; buy-in/support from leaders and providers; roles played by leaders and key personnel; and availability of organizational resources. Where supportive, these factors facilitated the delivery of the intervention; elsewhere, they presented as impediments. Findings from this study could help anticipate challenges to implementation that could be examined in a full-scale implementation study.

Effects of a web-based patient activation intervention to overcome clinical inertia on blood pressure control: cluster randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundOnly approximately half of patients with hypertension have their blood pressure controlled, due in large part to the tendency of primary care providers (PCPs) not to intensify treatment when blood pressure values are elevated.ObjectiveThis study tested the effect of an intervention designed to help patients ask questions at the point of care to encourage PCPs to appropriately intensify blood pressure treatment.MethodsPCPs and their patients with hypertension (N=500) were recruited by letter and randomized into 2 study groups: (1) intervention condition in which patients used a fully automated website each month to receive tailored messages suggesting questions to ask their PCP to improve blood pressure control, and (2) control condition in which a similar tool suggested questions to ask about preventive services (eg, cancer screening). The Web-based tool was designed to be used during each of the 12 study months and before scheduled visits with PCPs. The primary outcome was the percentage of patients in both conditions with controlled blood pressure.ResultsOf 500 enrolled patients (intervention condition: n=282; control condition: n=218), 418 (83.6%) completed the 12-month follow-up visit. At baseline, 289 (61.5%) of participants had controlled blood pressure. Most (411/500, 82.2%) participants used the intervention during at least 6 of 12 months and 222 (62.5%) reported asking questions directly from the Web-based tool. There were no group differences in asking about medication intensification and there were no differences in blood pressure control after 12 months between the intervention condition (201/282, 71.3%) and control condition (143/218, 65.6%; P=.27) groups. More intervention condition participants discussed having a creatinine test (92, 52.6% vs 49, 35.5%; P=.02) and urine protein test (81, 44.8% vs 21, 14.6%; P<.001), but no group differences were observed in the rate of testing. The control condition participants reported more frequent discussions about tetanus and pneumonia vaccines and reported more tetanus (30, 13.8% vs 15, 5.3%; P=.02) and pneumonia (25, 11.5% vs 16, 5.7%; P=.02) vaccinations after 12 months.ConclusionsThe use of an interactive website designed to overcome clinical inertia for hypertension care did not lead to improvements in blood pressure control. Participant adherence to the intervention was high. The control intervention led to positive changes in the use of preventive services (eg, tetanus immunization) and the intervention condition led to more discussions of hypertension-relevant tests (eg, serum creatinine and urine protein). By providing patients with individually tailored questions to ask during PCP visits, this study demonstrated that participants were likely to discuss the questions with PCPs. These discussions did not, however, lead to improvements in blood pressure control.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00377208; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00377208 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6IqWiPLon).

Effect of Patient Activation on Self-Management in Patients With Heart Failure

Few studies have examined whether chronic heart failure (HF) outcomes can be improved by increasing patient engagement (known as activation) in care and capabilities for self-care management. The objective was to determine the efficacy of a patient activation intervention compared with usual care on activation, self-care management, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits in patients with HF. This study used a randomized, 2-group, repeated-measures design. After consent was given, 84 participants were stratified by activation level and randomly assigned to usual care (n = 41) or usual care plus the intervention (n = 43). The primary outcomes and measures were patient activation using the Patient Activation Measure (PAM), self-management using the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) and the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Specific Adherence Scale, and hospitalizations and emergency department visits. The intervention was a 6-month program to increase activation and improve HF self-management behaviors, such as adhering to medications and implementing health behavior goals. Participants were primarily male (99%), were white (77%), and had New York Heart Association III stage (52%). The mean (SD) age was 66 (11) years, and 71% reported 3 or more comorbidities. The intervention group compared with the usual care group showed a significant increase in activation/PAM scores from baseline to 6 months. No significant group-by-time interactions were found for the SCHFI scales. Although the baseline MOS Specific Adherence Scale mean was lower in the intervention group, results showed a significant group-by-time effect with the intervention group improving more over time. Participants in the intervention group had fewer hospitalizations compared with the usual care group when the baseline activation/PAM level was low or high. This study supports the importance of targeted interventions to improve patient activation or engagement in HF care. Further work is needed related to HF self-management measurement and outcomes.

The impact of different modalities for activating patients in a community health center setting

ObjectiveDecision aids are designed to assist patients in understanding their health care choices but lower SES populations are less activated and may not be prepared to benefit. Activating interventions may help prepare patients for using decision aids. MethodsWe evaluated the impact of a decision aid video (DA) and the Patient Activation Intervention (PAI) on patient's level of activation measured by the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) and their decision-making confidence measured by the decision self-efficacy (DSE) scale. Patients were randomized into control, PAI alone, DA alone, and DA+PAI groups. ResultsPAM and DSE scores increased significantly in all groups with repeated measures. Restricting analyses to those with pre-intervention PAM scores at stages 1 or 2, the change in PAM scores was significant only for the intervention groups. The change in DSE scores was significantly only in the DA group. ConclusionThese findings provide support for the utility of the DA, the PAI, and the DA+PAI in activating lower SES individuals. The DA alone changed DSE scores in the least activated patients while the PAI and DA both changed PAM scores. Practice implicationsInterventions directed at increasing patient engagement in their care may be useful particularly for less activated patients from lower SES populations.

Patient–Provider Discussions about Colorectal Cancer Screening: Who Initiates Elements of Informed Decision Making?

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates remain low among low-income minority populations. To evaluate informed decision making (IDM) elements about CRC screening among low-income minority patients. Observational data were collected as part of a patient-level randomized controlled trial to improve CRC screening rates. Medical visits (November 2007 to May 2010) were audio-taped and coded for IDM elements about CRC screening. Near the end of the study one provider refused recording of patients' visits (33 of 270 patients). Among all patients in the trial, agreement to be audio taped was 43.5 % (103/237). Evaluable patient (n = 100) visits were assessed for CRC screening discussion occurrence, IDM elements, and who initiated discussion of each IDM element. Patients were African American (72.2 %), female (63.7 %), with annual household incomes <$20,000 (60.7 %), without health insurance (57.0 %), and limited health literacy (53.7 %). Although CRC screening was mentioned during 48 (48 %) visits, no further discussion about screening occurred in 23 visits (19 times mentioned by the participant with no response from providers). During any visit, the maximum number of IDM elements was five; however, only two visits included five elements. The most common IDM element discussed in addition to the nature of the decision was the assessment of the patient's understanding in 16 (33.3 %) of the visits that included a CRC discussion. A patient activation intervention initiated CRC screening discussions with health care providers; however, limited IDM occurred about CRC screening during medical visits of minority and low-income patients.

Abstract P76: Effect of Patient Activation on Self-Management Behaviors in Heart Failure

Background Disease management and chronic care models have evidenced success with heart failure (HF) patients but have not fully explored patients' engagement/activation in self- care. Objective Determine efficacy of a patient activation intervention (Heart PACT Program) compared to usual care on activation and self-care management in HF. Methods This study was a 4-year, randomized, 2-group, repeated-measures design (baseline, 3 months, and 6 months). Following consent, 84 patients were stratified by activation level and randomly assigned to usual care (n = 41), or usual care plus the activation intervention (n = 43). The primary outcome variables were patient activation using the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) (Hibbard et al., 2005), and self-care using the Self-Care for Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) (Riegel et al., 2004) and the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Specific Adherence Scale. The intervention consisted of individual meetings and phone call follow-up over 6 months based on the patient's level of activation: stage 1 or 2 (low activation), stage 3 (medium), or stage 4 (high) as assessed by the patient's self-report PAM score and brief interview. The leaders collaborated with patients to improve activation and self-management of HF: adhering to medications; monitoring weight, blood pressure, and symptoms; and implementing health behavior goals. Findings Participants were primarily male (99%), Caucasian (77%), and classified as NYHA III (52%). The mean age was 66 years (SD 11). The majority (71%) of participants reported 3 or more comorbid conditions. The intervention group compared to the usual care group showed a significant increase in activation/PAM scores from baseline to 6 months (significant group by time interaction linear contrast, F=16.90, p=.02). Although the baseline MOS mean was lower in the intervention group, results revealed a significant group by time effect (F=9.16, p = .001) with the intervention group improving more over time. There were no significant group by time interactions for the SCHFI. Conclusion Patient activation can be improved through targeted intervention. The patient activation model has the potential to change approaches to tailored patient education for self-management in heart failure.

An Illness Perception Model of Primary Care Patients’ Help Seeking for Depression

Many people with depression recognize their symptoms as depression, but fail to seek treatment for a number of years. We aimed to explore the reasons for this. Thirty primary care patients who screened positive for depression participated in semistructured, face-to-face interviews. Transcripts were analyzed using grounded thematic analysis. Patients who sought depression treatment emphasized their understanding of depression, their belief that treatment would work, and the negative consequences that would ensue if they did not seek treatment. Patients who did not seek treatment emphasized that treatment would not be effective, thought that depression would not last very long, and believed that depression did not affect their everyday lives. Patients' illness perceptions of depression were represented by and organized using the framework of the Self-Regulation Model of Illness Behavior. This model might be useful for planning patient activation intervention studies to increase the uptake of depression treatment in primary care.

Activating Community Health Center Patients in Developing Question-Formulation Skills

The authors developed and delivered a brief patient activation intervention (PAI) that sought to facilitate physician-patient communication. The intervention was designed to assist low-income, racial/ethnic minority users of community health centers in building skills and confidence asking questions. The PAI takes 8 to 10 minutes to deliver and consists of five steps that can be carried out by individuals with minimal formal medical training. A total of 252 patients waiting to see their physician participated in the intervention and completed the follow-up semistructured interview after their health care visit. The authors describe the intervention and the results of their qualitative evaluation of patient's responses. Overall, the PAI was valued by patients, appeared to add to patients' satisfaction with the health care they received, and was feasible to implement in the primary care setting. Furthermore, findings from this study provide indirect insight regarding factors that influence minority patient's question-asking behavior that include patient's attitudes, social factors, and patient's self-efficacy in question formulation.

A web-based patient activation intervention to improve hypertension care: Study design and baseline characteristics in the web hypertension study

BackgroundDespite the known health risks of hypertension, many hypertensive patients still have uncontrolled blood pressure. Clinical inertia, the tendency of physicians not to intensify treatment, is a common barrier in controlling chronic diseases. This trial is aimed at determining the impact of activating patients to ask providers to make changes to their care through tailored feedback. MethodsDiagnosed hypertensive patients were enrolled in this RCT and randomized to one of two study groups: (1) the intervention condition – Web-based hypertension feedback, based on the individual patient's self-report of health variables and previous BP measurements, to prompt them to ask questions during their next physician's visit about hypertension care (2) the control condition – Web-based preventive health feedback, based on the individual's self-report of receiving preventive care (e.g., pap testing), to prompt them to ask questions during their next physician's visit about preventive care. The primary outcome of the study is change in blood pressure and change in the percentage of patients in each group with controlled blood pressure. ConclusionFive hundred participants were enrolled and baseline characteristics include a mean age of 60.0years; 57.6% female; and 77.6% white. Overall 37.7% participants had uncontrolled blood pressure; the mean body mass index (BMI) was in the obese range (32.4) and 21.8% had diabetes. By activating patients to become involved in their own care, we believe the addition of the web-based intervention will improve blood pressure control compared to a control group who receive web-based preventive messages unrelated to hypertension.

Asking questions: The effect of a brief intervention in community health centers on patient activation

Objective To evaluate the impact of a patient activation intervention (PAI) focused on building question formulation skills that was delivered to patients in community health centers prior to their physician visit. Methods Level of patient activation and patient preferred role were examined using the patient activation measure (PAM) and the patient preference for control (PPC) measure. Results More of the 252 patients evaluated were at lower levels of activation (PAM levels 1 or 2) than U.S. population norms before the intervention. Paired-samples t-test revealed a statistically significant increase from pre-intervention to post-visit PAM scores. One-third of participants moved from lower levels of activation to higher levels (PAM levels 3 or 4) post-intervention. Patients preferring a more passive role had lower initial PAM scores and greater increases in their post-intervention PAM scores than did those who preferred a more active role. Conclusion Patients exposed to the PAI demonstrated significant improvement on a measure of activation. The PAI may be useful in helping patients prepare for more effective encounters with their physicians. Practice implications The PAI was feasible to deliver in the health center setting and may be a useful method for activating low-income, racial/ethnic minority patient populations.

Part I, patient perspective: activating patients to engage their providers in the use of evidence-based medicine: a qualitative evaluation of the VA Project to Implement Diuretics (VAPID).

BackgroundThis qualitative evaluation follows a randomized-control trial of a patient activation intervention in which hypertensive patients received a letter in the mail asking them to discuss thiazide diuretics with their provider. Results of the parent study indicated that the intervention was effective at facilitating discussions between patients and providers and enhancing thiazide prescribing rates. In the research presented here, our objective was to interview patients to determine their receptivity to patient activation, a potential leverage point for implementing interventions.MethodsSemi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 54 patients, purposefully sampled from a randomized controlled trial of a patient activation intervention. All subjects had a history of hypertension and received primary care from one of twelve Veterans Affairs primary care clinics. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and reviewed by the interviewer. Interviews were independently coded by three qualitative researchers until consensus was attained, and relevant themes and responses were identified, grouped, and compared. NVivo 8.0 was used for data management and analysis.ResultsData from this qualitative study revealed that most participants held favorable opinions toward the patient activation intervention used in the clinical trial. Most (82%) stated they had a positive reaction. Patients emphasized they liked the intervention because it was straightforward and encouraged them to initiate discussions with their provider. Also, by being active participants in their healthcare, patients felt more invested. Of the few patients offering negative feedback (11%), their main concern was discomfort with possibly challenging their providers' healthcare practices. Another outcome of interest was the patients' perceptions of why they were or were not prescribed a thiazide diuretic, for which several clinically relevant reasons were provided.ConclusionPatients' perceptions of the intervention indicated it was effective via the encouragement of dialogue between themselves and their provider regarding evidence-based treatment options for hypertension. Additionally, patients' experiences with thiazide prescribing discussions shed light on the facilitators and barriers to implementing clinical practice guidelines regarding thiazides as first-line therapy for hypertension.Trial registrationNational Clinical Trial Registry number NCT00265538

Cancer Health Empowerment for Living without Pain (Ca-HELP): study design and rationale for a tailored education and coaching intervention to enhance care of cancer-related pain

BackgroundCancer-related pain is common and under-treated. This article describes a study designed to test the effectiveness of a theory-driven, patient-centered coaching intervention to improve cancer pain processes and outcomes.Methods/DesignThe Cancer Health Empowerment for Living without Pain (Ca-HELP) Study is an American Cancer Society sponsored randomized trial conducted in Sacramento, California. A total of 265 cancer patients with at least moderate pain severity (Worst Pain Numerical Analog Score >=4 out of 10) or pain-related impairment (Likert score >= 3 out of 5) were randomly assigned to receive tailored education and coaching (TEC) or educationally-enhanced usual care (EUC); 258 received at least one follow-up assessment. The TEC intervention is based on social-cognitive theory and consists of 6 components (assess, correct, teach, prepare, rehearse, portray). Both interventions were delivered over approximately 30 minutes just prior to a scheduled oncology visit. The majority of visits (56%) were audio-recorded for later communication coding. Follow-up data including outcomes related to pain severity and impairment, self-efficacy for pain control and for patient-physician communication, functional status and well-being, and anxiety were collected at 2, 6, and 12 weeks.DiscussionBuilding on social cognitive theory and pilot work, this study aims to test the hypothesis that a brief, tailored patient activation intervention will promote better cancer pain care and outcomes. Analyses will focus on the effects of the experimental intervention on pain severity and impairment (primary outcomes); self-efficacy and quality of life (secondary outcomes); and relationships among processes and outcomes of cancer pain care. If this model of coaching by lay health educators proves successful, it could potentially be implemented widely at modest cost.Trial Registration[Clinical Trials Identifier: NCT00283166]

Evaluation of a patient activation and empowerment intervention in mental health care.

Evidence suggests that minority populations have lower levels of attendance and retention in mental health care than non-Latino whites. Patient activation and empowerment interventions may be effective in increasing minority patients' attendance and retention. This study developed and evaluated a patient self-reported activation and empowerment strategy in mental health care. The Right Question Project-Mental Health (RQP-MH) trainings consisted of 3 individual sessions using a pre/post test comparison group design with patients from 2 community mental health clinics. The RQP-MH intervention taught participants to identify questions that would help them consider their role, process and reasons behind a decision; and empowerment strategies to better manage their care. A total of 231 participated, completing at least the pretest interview (n = 141 intervention site, 90 comparison site). Four main outcomes were linked to the intervention: changes in self-reported patient activation; changes in self-reported patient empowerment; treatment attendance; and retention in treatment. Findings show that intervention participants were over twice as likely to be retained in treatment and over 3 times more likely than comparison participants to have scheduled at least 1 visit during the 6-month follow-up period. Similarly, intervention participants demonstrated 29% more attendance to scheduled visits than comparison patients. There was no evidence of an effect on self-reported patient empowerment, only on self-reported patient activation. Results demonstrate the intervention's potential to increase self-reported patient activation, retention, and attendance in mental health care for minority populations. By facilitating patient-provider communication, the RQP-MH intervention may help minorities effectively participate in mental health care.

A Randomized Trial to Assess the Impact of Direct Reporting of DXA Scan Results to Patients on Quality of Osteoporosis Care

Consecutive patients identified as having osteoporosis on screening dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans were randomized to: (1) a patient activation intervention consisting of mailing patients their DXA scan results supplemented by a call from a nurse educator or (2) usual care. Three months after the DXA scan, patients were contacted to assess: (1) use of antiresorptive therapy, (2) osteoporosis specific knowledge, and (3) satisfaction with their osteoporosis-related care. A total of 1,035 consecutive patients were screened to identify 422 eligible patients. Of these, 56 patients met inclusion criteria and were subsequently randomized. At follow-up, use of antiresorptive agents was numerically more common in the intervention arm (62%) than the control arm (54%), but this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.58). Patients in the intervention group were more likely to report being notified of their DXA results in a timely fashion (p=0.03), but osteoporosis-specific knowledge was similar.

Promoting glycemic control through diabetes self-management: evaluating a patient activation intervention

This study compared an activation intervention to passive education in a randomized attention-control trial of 232 patients with type 2 diabetes. The activation intervention was based on Expanding Patient Involvement in Care (EPIC) trials, and was compared to time-matched passive education viewing of ADA video-tapes. Patient demographics and clinical characteristics of their diabetes were assessed with questionnaires, active involvement was assessed via ratings of taped interactions between patients and providers, and serum samples were analyzed for HbA1c. Patients in the activation condition were rated as more actively involved in discussions of diabetes self-management, and rated active involvement was predictive of improvement in glycemic control. No effect of the activation intervention was found on HbA1c. Thus, the activation intervention increased the active involvement of patients with type 2 diabetes in visits with practitioners, and active involvement led to improved glycemic control. However, the activation intervention did not improve glycemic control directly.

Change in Metabolic Control and Functional Status After Hospitalization: Impact of Patient Activation Intervention in Diabetic Patients

To determine whether a short intervention to enhance patient information seeking and decision making during hospitalization results in improved metabolic control and functional status in patients with diabetes mellitus. A randomized clinical trial was conducted in which control patients received a comprehensive 3-day evaluation and educational program, whereas experimental patients received a 45-min patient activation intervention and a 1-h self-administered booster in addition to the program. Metabolic control and functional status were measured at baseline and 4 mo postdischarge. During their discharge discussions, experimental patients asked significantly more questions than control patients (7.4 vs. 3.0, P less than .001) and 4 mo later reported significantly fewer physical limitations in activities of daily living than the control group (P = 0.02). Improvement in metabolic control was statistically significant only for experimental patients (P = 0.02), although their glycosylated hemoglobin levels were not significantly lower than control patients' at follow-up. The intervention did not diminish physician satisfaction with patient interactions, although it may have increased physician frustration with responsibilities that competed with patient care. These results suggest that the addition of a patient activation intervention to a comprehensive diabetes management program may substantially enhance physical functioning among adults with diabetes mellitus.