Psychometric assessment of the patient activation measure short form (PAM-13) in rural settings.

Purpose: The patient activation measure short form (PAM-13) assesses patients' self-reported health management skills, knowledge, confidence, and motivation. We used item response theory to evaluate the psychometric properties of the PAM-13 utilized in rural settings.

Methods: A Rasch partial credit model analysis was conducted on the PAM-13 instrument using a sample of 812 rural patients recruited by providers and our research staff.