Participatory Engagement Program (PEP)

Framework for Patient/Family Engagement and Activation

There has been a great deal of discussion around the idea of consumer engagement—of consumers becoming more active partners in their own health and healthcare as opposed to simply being recipients of care. Within this broad discussion, there are at least two major dimensions of consumer engagement that need to be examined separately:

  • Consumer Economic Behavior—This  dimension of engagement focuses on consumers as purchasers. A variety of strategies, from increased transparency on cost and quality to consumer-directed health plans, are deployed to both decrease utilization and improve value through the workings of consumers as market drivers.
  • Consumer Health Behavior—This dimension of engagement focuses on consumers as patients managing their own health and interacting with providers of health services. The goal is typically to increase patient activation to improve self-management of chronic disease and the four fundamental dimensions of lifestyle risk.
The engagement framework was developed by a subcommittee of the PCPCC Center for eHealth Adoption and Exchange. Described below, it is specifically targeted at the health behavior dimension of engagement. It is intended to support primary care providers in their journey towards improved patient activation and more patient-centered care, but may also be useful to consumers wishing to understand how they can become more active partners with their providers in pursuit of their own care. Primary care providers making the transformation to a medical home environment will certainly want to focus on enhanced patient engagement and activation as one element of a more patient-centered practice. The framework below is intended to fill a gap by providing a means to think and talk about patient engagement from the perspective of provider and patient engaged in a care process. Each element of the framework represents a critical aspect of engagement, and thus a potential focus area around which providers and staff can discuss specific changes and enhancements to current policies and practices.
 

 Attached is the PDF of the Participatory Engagement Framework from the PCPCC Consumer Guide. These frameworks are free to be downloaded to learn more. Please use appropriate acknowledgment and citation when sharing this content.

Participatory Engagement Framework - 2009