title: Measuring patient activation in The Netherlands: translation and validation of the American short form Patient Activation Measure (PAM13).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The American short form Patient Activation Measure (PAM) is a 13-item instrument which assesses patient (or consumer) self-reported knowledge, skills and confidence for self-management of one's health or chronic condition. In this study the PAM was translated into a Dutch version; psychometric properties of the Dutch version were established and the instrument was validated in a panel of chronically ill patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The translation was done according to WHO guidelines. The PAM 13-Dutch was sent to 4178 members of the Dutch National Panel of people with Chronic illness or Disability (NPCD) in April 2010 (study A) and again to a sub sample of this group (N = 973) in June 2010 (study B). Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and cross-validation with the SBSQ-D (a measure for Health literacy) were computed. The Dutch results were compared to similar Danish and American data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The psychometric properties of the PAM 13-Dutch were generally good. The level of internal consistency is good (α = 0.88) and item-rest correlations are moderate to strong. The Dutch mean PAM score (61.3) is comparable to the American (61.9) and lower than the Danish (64.2). The test-retest reliability was moderate. The association with Health literacy was weak to moderate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PAM-13 Dutch is a reliable instrument to measure patient activation. More research is needed into the validity of the Patient Activation Measure, especially with respect to a more comprehensive measure of Health literacy.
authors: NIVEL - Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, PO Box 1568, 3500, BN, Utrecht, The Netherlands. j.rademakers@nivel.nl
authors: Jany
authors: J
authors: Rademakers
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Nijman
authors: Lucas
authors: L
authors: van der Hoek
authors: Monique
authors: M
authors: Heijmans
authors: Mieke
authors: M
authors: Rijken
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D011594:Psychometrics; D036301:Qualitative Research; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014177:Translations; D055815:Young Adult