Patient Activation

Patient activation describes an individual's knowledge, skills, and confidence to enact self-management behaviors to maintain health. Individuals with high patient activation believe their role as a patient is important, have the confidence and knowledge necessary to take action, and enact behaviors to maintain and improve their health. Patient activation, as a concept, arose from the self-care movement in the 1970s. Three factors have altered how patient activation is considered both clinically and in research studies. First, the perception of self-care activities has normalized to an expectation of the patient. Second, the amount of information freely available and accessible to patients has proliferated. Third, the role of clinician has shifted from a paternalistic perspective to a shared decision-making or even consumerist perspective. In 2021, patient activation is a pervasive self-management concept that crosses health status and contexts.