Article

Patient engagement in multiple sclerosis (MS) care can be challenging at
times given the unpredictable disease course, wide range of symptoms, variable
therapeutic response to treatment and high rates of patient depression. Patient
activation, a model for conceptualising patients' involvement in their health
care, has been found useful for discerning patient differences in chronic illness
management. The purpose of this study was to validate the patient activation
measure (PAM-13) in an MS clinic sample. METHODS: This was a survey study of 199
MS clinic patients. Participants completed the PAM-13 along with measures of MS
medication adherence, self-efficacy, depression and quality of life. RESULTS:
Results from Rasch and correlation analyses indicate that the PAM-13 is reliable
and valid for the MS population. Activation was associated with MS self-efficacy,
depression and quality of life but not with self-reported medication adherence.
Also, participants with relapse-remitting MS, current employment, or high levels
of education were more activated than other subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The PAM-13 is
a useful tool for understanding health behaviours in MS. The findings of this
study support further clinical consideration and investigation into developing
interventions to increase patient activation and improve health outcomes in MS.

Langue : ANGLAIS