What are the contents of patient engagement interventions for older adults? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the contents of interventions reported in RCTs focusing on patient engagement of older adults.

METHODS: A systematic literature review based on a search for "patient engagement/activation/empowerment/involvement/participation". Interventions were classified according to: (i) specific components (micro level), (ii) single/multiple dimensions (educational, behavioral, affective) (meso level), and (iii) the studies' main educational, behavioral or affective dimension (macro level).

RESULTS: After screening 2749 articles, 35 were included. 20 unique components were identified, mostly behavioral or educational (45.5% each) (e.g., goal setting or written informational materials). Most interventions with a single-focus were classified as educational (31%), one was solely affective (3%). Half of the interventions covered more than one dimension, with four (11%) combining all three dimensions. Studies mainly focusing on the affective dimension included older participants (72 vs. 67 years), had a higher proportion of females (71% vs. 44%), and included other dimensions more frequently (67% vs. 31%) than did studies with a main focus on the educational dimension.

CONCLUSION: The contents of the interventions that focused on patient engagement of older adults tend to focus more on behavioral and educational dimensions than the affective dimension.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The possibility of adding the affective dimension into behavioral and/or educational interventions should be explored.