# Total Engagement and Activation Measure (TEAM): Developing a measure of the capacity for patients to engage in their health care

> **NIH NIH R01** · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $557,439

## Abstract

With increasing emphasis on engaging patients as partners in and often drivers of their health and health care,
patient engagement is seen as a necessary component in achieving the triple aim of improved experience of
care, improved health of populations, and lower per capita health care costs. The goal of this research is to
develop a patient-focused engagement measure that improves our understanding of patient engagement from
the perspective of patients and clinicians, and that allows for identification of individual differences in the
dimensions of patient engagement. As healthcare policies increasingly incentivize patient-centered and
patient-engaged care, there is a critical need for the development and validation of such a measure.
We propose a multi-phase study aimed at developing and implementing a psychometrically valid instrument
that measures the capacity of patients to engage in their health care, the Total Engagement and Activation
Measure (TEAM). Accomplishment of this major study aim will also involve three specific aims: 1) development
of a conceptual model of patient engagement that reflects shared perspectives of patients and clinicians about
engagement and takes into account the context in which engagement happens; 2) utilization of the NIH
PROMIS® methodology to conduct Instrument Development and Validation (IDV) for this new measure of the
capacity for patient engagement; and 3) administration of this newly developed measure in the `real world'
setting of a large academic medical center to examine variability in the components of patient engagement
across different subgroups of hospitalized patients.
Development of the comprehensive TEAM measurement tool will enable future exploration of a series of
ongoing and significant research questions such as how shifts in policy, provider remuneration, and new
technologies support the kind of care that facilitates patient engagement. Achieving a greater understanding of
the concept of patient engagement and its measurement will clarify the most effective ways to support patients
in becoming partners in their care in order to improve and maintain their health, and subsequently allow for the
identification of actionable points of intervention that can be leveraged in future studies and initiatives aimed at
increasing patient engagement.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10141169
- **Project number:** 5R01AG056469-04
- **Recipient organization:** OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer L Hefner
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $557,439
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-15 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10141169

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10141169, Total Engagement and Activation Measure (TEAM): Developing a measure of the capacity for patients to engage in their health care (5R01AG056469-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10141169. Licensed CC0.

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