Small, N, Bower, P, Chew-Graham, CA, Whalley, D and Protheroe, J (2013) Patient empowerment in long-term conditions: development and preliminary testing of a new measure. BMC Health Services Research, 13. 263 -?. ISSN 1472-6963

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Patient empowerment is viewed by policy makers and health care practitioners as a mechanism to help patients with long-term conditions better manage their health and achieve better outcomes. However, assessing the role of empowerment is dependent on effective measures of empowerment. Although many measures of empowerment exist, no measure has been developed specifically for patients with long-term conditions in the primary care setting. This study presents preliminary data on the development and validation of such a measure. METHODS: We conducted two empirical studies. Study one was an interview study to understand empowerment from the perspective of patients living with long-term conditions. Qualitative analysis identified dimensions of empowerment, and the qualitative data were used to generate items relating to these dimensions. Study two was a cross-sectional postal study involving patients with different types of long-term conditions recruited from general practices. The survey was conducted to test and validate our new measure of empowerment. Factor analysis and regression were performed to test scale structure, internal consistency and construct validity. RESULTS: Sixteen predominately elderly patients with different types of long-term conditions described empowerment in terms of 5 dimensions (identity, knowledge and understanding, personal control, personal decision-making, and enabling other patients). One hundred and ninety seven survey responses were received from mainly older white females, with relatively low levels of formal education, with the majority retired from paid work. Almost half of the sample reported cardiovascular, joint or diabetes long-term conditions. Factor analysis identified a three factor solution (positive attitude and sense of control, knowledge and confidence in decision making and enabling others), although the structure lacked clarity. A total empowerment score across all items showed acceptable levels of internal consistency and relationships with other measures were generally supportive of its construct validity. CONCLUSION: Initial analyses suggest that the new empowerment measure meets basic psychometric criteria. Reasons concerning the failure to confirm the hypothesized factor structure are discussed alongside further developments of the scale.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via BioMed Central at http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-13-263 - please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.
Uncontrolled Keywords: patient empowerment, long-term conditions, primary care, patients' perspectives, semi-structured interviews, measurement, scale development, psychometrics, health outcome
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Divisions: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Primary Care Health Sciences
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Symplectic
Date Deposited: 12 Apr 2017 09:25
Last Modified: 12 Apr 2017 09:35
URI: https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/3223

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