Assessing empowerment as multidimensional outcome of a patient education program for adolescents with chronic conditions: A latent difference score model

OBJECTIVES: The current study aims to examine the construct of empowerment in the context of a transition education program. Patient education programs strive to empower adolescents with chronic conditions to take responsibility for their own health care to manage their transition from pediatric to adult medicine. Our study aimed to identify the core components of patient empowerment and examined whether its components are responsive to a patient education program. METHODS: Data was collected in two longitudinal studies involving N = 723 adolescents with chronic conditions. We used Latent Difference Score models (LDSm) of: 1) self-efficacy (GSE), 2) transition competence (TCS), and 3) patient activation (PAM) to quantify the latent variable of patient empowerment (PE). Additionally, the LDSm were extended to analyze the effects of group affiliation (intervention vs. control) and participants’ age on empowerment. RESULTS: PE was identifiable by the three components. The intervention group developed significantly higher scores of PE compared to the control group. Age (13–21 years) did not moderate the relation between group affiliation and PE. CONCLUSIONS: We quantified PE successfully using a psychometric modeling of change. Patient empowerment is measureable and utilizable in the specific context of transition of adolescents with chronic conditions.