title: Levels and correlates of patient activation in health center settings: building strategies for improving health outcomes.
abstract: Patient activation refers to people's ability to engage in self-management of their health and health care. We assessed the performance of the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) for patients attending three inner-city health centers and compared resultant scores with those of the general U.S. adult population. We approached 801 patients and 527 (65.8%) participated; the majority were Latino(a) or African American/Black. No differences in activation were seen according to age. Males and more educated patients were more activated (p<.05) and patients with better self-rated health and adequate health literacy were more activated than their counterparts (p<.001). Patterns of scores resembled those of the U.S. general population for educational attainment and self-rated health but not for gender and age. Compared with the general population, more patients were characterized as level 1 (least activated). Developing strategies that enhance patient activation is critical to improving health outcomes, particularly in less advantaged populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, Manhattan, New York, NY 10031, USA. lubetkin@med.cuny.edu
authors.forename: Erica I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Lubetkin
authors.forename: Wei-Hsin
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Marthe R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gold
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012648:Self Care; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D019037:Urban Health Services; D055815:Young Adult