Analysis of patient activation and its influencing factors among Chinese rural older adults with chronic multimorbidity.

Authors

Xiao Yang, Yanhui Zhang, Danfeng Wang, Xiaofan Wang, Ruofan Qiao, Jixvan Zheng, Chunhui Zhang, Manli Wang

Published in

Frontiers in public health. Volume 14. Pages 1811860. Epub Jul 21, 2026.

Abstract

In recent years, the prevalence of chronic multimorbidity has been increasing year by year. The number of rural patients with chronic multimorbidity cannot be ignored, and such patients are deficient in disease self-management ability. Patient activation plays a positive role in promoting patients to improve self-management behaviors, and is crucial for disease management and prognosis. However, the current status and influencing factors of patient activation among rural patients with chronic multimorbidity remain unclear, which hinders the formulation of targeted and effective interventions.
To analyze the current status and influencing factors of patient activation among rural patients with chronic multimorbidity.
This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. From January to May 2025, 336 patients aged ≥60 years with chronic multimorbidity residing in Qi County, Kaifeng City, Henan Province, China, were selected as the study subjects. Demographic characteristics, patient activation scores and medication burden scores were collected. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to explore the influencing factors of patient activation scores.
A total of 336 valid questionnaires were recovered (96%). The mean patient activation score was (46.11 ± 10.93) points. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, monthly household income per capita, number of medications, duration of medication use and medication burden were independent influencing factors for patient activation scores among rural older adults patients with chronic multimorbidity (P < 0.05).
The overall level of patient activation is low among rural patients with chronic multimorbidity. Targeted attention should be paid to rural patients with chronic multimorbidity who are of older age, have lower monthly household income, take more medications, have longer medication duration, and bear a heavier medication burden. Intensified health education and strong support are warranted to effectively improve their patient activation and ensure quality of life in later life.

PMID:
42553692
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 05 Aug 2026.

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