Patient Activation Measure (PAM)

Tailoring Tool

People want to have choice and control over the way their care is planned and delivered, based on ’what matters’ to them and their individual strengths, needs and preferences.

Self-management is the usual care for people living with long-term conditions. Although they tend to spend relatively little time in contact with the health and care system, more than four in ten people living with a long-term condition do not have the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their health and wellbeing daily. As a result, they often have a lower quality of life and make more use of primary care and emergency services than those who are more knowledgeable, skilled and confident.

Tailoring tools can improve people’s ability to self-manage, so it follows that we should measure knowledge, skills and confidence by using them. Patient Activation Measure® (PAM®) is one example of a tailoring tool and encourages the use of tailored interventions to improve activation for those who would most benefit. The practitioner does this by asking the person/patient 13 questions about their health and wellbeing. This is inputted into a web-based system called Flourish which then tells the practitioner which PAM® level the person/patient is. PAM® can also be done with carers and/or parents if appropriate.

Some health services have been using PAM® in Lincolnshire since Autumn 2022 such as; Cardiac Rehab, Parkinson’s, Post Covid, Stroke, Pulmonary, Cancer ULHT and One You Lincolnshire. To try it, please get in touch!

Tailoring tools can improve a person’s ability to self-manage. They should be used hand in hand with approaches which include:

• health coaching – helping people gain and use the knowledge, skills and confidence to become active participants in their care so that they can reach their self-identified health and wellbeing goals
• self-management education – any form of formal education or training for people with long-term conditions focused on helping them to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to manage their own health care effectively
• peer support – a range of approaches through which people with similar long-term conditions or health experiences support each other to better understand the conditions and aid recovery or self-manage

For more information or if you are interested in using PAM® in your service/area please contact lhnt.itsallaboutpeople@nhs.net