The Design and Testing of the Psychometric Properties of the Person Engagement Index Instrument to Measure a Person's Capacity to Engage in Health Care

Background and Purpose: Patient engagement has been considered a powerful tool to improve health outcomes. A composite instrument to measure the factors that impact a person's capacity to engage in his or her health care was an identified gap in the literature. This study developed and tested the psychometric properties of the Person Engagement Index (PEI) instrument. Methods: The instrument was tested among 338 medical-surgical inpatients at four health care systems (five facilities), with psychometric evaluation for validity, reliability, and exploratory factor analysis. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor solution that accounted for 63.9% of the total variance. Internal consistency results were Cronbach's alpha = .896 for the overall scale and each subscale: Engagement in Health Care = .885, Technology Use in Health Care = .854, Proactive Approach to Health Care = .728, and Psychosocial Support = .880. Conclusions: The results of the PEI study indicate that it is a valid and reliable instrument among the adult medical-surgical population. Further testing of the instrument is recommended among other populations and across the care continuum.