Exploratory pilot testing of the psychometric properties of the person engagement index instrument among older, community-dwelling adults

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Person Engagement Index with community dwelling older adults and determine the factors that impact this population’s capacity to engage in healthcare. This non-experimental pilot evaluation of the psychometrics of the Person Engagement Index was performed in a convenience sample of 100 community-dwelling older adults. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted using dimension reduction to determine the underlying structure of a person’s capacity to engage in healthcare. Results indicated good internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha=.882 for the overall scale. Exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation was conducted resulting in a five-factor solution. Four of the five subscales exceeded Cronbach’s alpha \u3e .70 threshold for internal consistency. Cronbach’s alpha results for the five domains were: (Knowledge of Healthcare Status) =.886, (Proactive Approach to Healthcare) =.780, (Motivation to Manage Healthcare) =.742, (Psychosocial Support for Healthcare) =.658 and (Technology Use in Healthcare) =.796. Results suggest that the Person Engagement Index instrument is a valid and reliable instrument to measure a person’s capacity to engage in healthcare among community dwelling older adults. Testing in different settings with other populations and over time is warranted to further explore the reliability and validity of the Person Engagement Index for different subgroups and its sensitivity to changes in health status that may impact a person’s capacity to engage in care

Socio-demographic predictors associated with capacity to engage in health care

Patient engagement is essential to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. This study aimed to examine the socio-demographic factors associated with one’s capacity to engage in their health care. An observational, cross-sectional study was performed including patients from five medical/surgical units of four health systems. Patients’ engagement capacity was assessed using the person engagement index (PEI) instrument which contains four subscales: engagement in health care, technology use in health care, proactive approach to health care, and psychosocial support for health care. Separate general linear models were applied for the PEI total score and each of the four subscale scores. Our results show that younger age was associated with greater technology use in health care. Individuals with higher educational levels have a greater overall engagement and the use of technology in their health care. A higher level of psychosocial support was found among blacks and those being employed. No difference in the proactive approach was found by one’s socio-demographic factors. This study illustrated that an individual’s age, race, educational level, and employment status were associated with the capacity to engage in different aspects of health care activities. Providers need to assess one’s readiness for engagement to deliver customized interventions based on their needs and capacity to engage. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Innovation & Technology lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework) Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this len