Table 1

Descriptive statistics observation periods where a PAM questionnaire was returned, split by PAM level (1–4)

PAM level 1
(least activated)
PAM level 2PAM level 3PAM level 4
(most activated)
Overall
(n=2704)(n=2337)(n=5591)(n=1638)(n=12 270)
Healthcare utilisationMean (SD)Mean SDMean SDMean SDMean SD
 Contacts with a general practitioner10.52 (8.66)8.90 (7.6)8.19 (7.40)7.50 (6.84)8.75 (7.73)
 Emergency department attendances0.73 (1.99)0.49 (1.27)0.47 (1.11)0.42 (1.00)0.52 (1.37)
 Elective inpatient admissions0.61 (2.38)0.39 (1.2)0.39 (1.39)0.58 (5.17)0.47 (2.45)
 Emergency inpatient admissions0.28 (0.86)0.18 (0.58)0.17 (0.62)0.15 (0.64)0.19 (0.68)
 Attended outpatient appointments6.72 (9.55)5.86 (8.64)5.48 (8.51)5.05 (7.88)5.77 (8.71)
 ‘Did not attend’ contacts with a GP0.75 (1.50)0.52 (1.10)0.44 (1.05)0.36 (0.81)0.51 (1.15)
 ‘Did not attend’ outpatient appointments0.36 (0.98)0.24 (0.72)0.21 (0.74)0.20 (0.70)0.25 (0.79)
 Minor self-referrals to emergency departments0.20 (0.64)0.18 (0.68)0.15 (0.51)0.12 (0.39)0.16 (0.56)
Other patient characteristics
 Age in years at the time of the questionnaire67.36 (14.17)67.47 (13.28)67.21 (13.37)64.37 (12.96)66.92 (13.52)
 Number of physical long-term conditions*2.05 (1.43)2.00 (1.30)1.92 (1.29)1.80 (1.19)1.95 (1.31)
 Number of mental health long-term conditions†0.44 (0.59)0.29 (0.50)0.28 (0.49)0.25 (0.47)0.31 (0.52)
Number of physical long-term conditions*Frequency (%)Frequency (%)Frequency (%)Frequency (%)Frequency (%)
 0218 (8.1)129 (5.5)288 (5.2)74 (4.5)709 (5.8)
 1931 (34.4)873 (37.4)2295 (41.1)751 (45.9)4850 (39.5)
 2741 (27.4)675 (28.9)1606 (28.7)464 (28.3)3486 (28.4)
 3+814 (30.1)660 (28.2)1402 (25.0)349 (21.3)3225 (26.3)
Number of mental health long-term conditions†
 01640 (60.7)1706 (73.0)4155 (74.3)1253 (76.5)8754 (71.3)
 1936 (34.6)582 (24.9)1328 (23.8)361 (22.0)3207 (26.1)
 2+128 (4.7)49 (2.1)108 (1.9)24 (1.5)309 (2.5)
Index of Multiple Deprivation (national quintile groups)
 1 (most deprived)1496 (55.3)1259 (53.9)2902 (51.9)833 (50.9)6490 (52.9)
 21078 (39.9)949 (40.6)2352 (42.1)690 (42.1)5069 (41.3)
 3, 4 or 5130 (4.8)129 (5.5)337 (6.0)115 (7.0)711 (5.8)
Gender
 Female1462 (54.1)1214 (52.0)2875 (51.4)853 (52.1)6404 (52.2)
 Male1242 (45.9)1123 (48.0)2716 (48.6)785 (47.9)5866 (47.8)
  • *Angina, asthma, cancer, chronic heart disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial disease, stroke/transient ischaemic attack and hypertension.

  • †Dementia, depression and severe mental health.

  • GP, general practitioner; PAM, Patient Activation Measure.