German version

To effectively promote patient-centeredness, it is essential to be able to measure its current implementation in healthcare. Therefore, we would like to make the EPAT available to you. This questionnaire captures 16 dimensions of patient-centeredness based on the integrative model for patient-centeredness [ 1 , 2 ]. It is a so-called patient-reported experience measure (PREM). This means that patients answer questions about how patient-centered they have experienced their own care.

The EPAT was developed through a complex process involving patients, experts, and scientific literature. High content validity was ensured during this process. Details of the development can be found here:

Christalle, E., Zeh, S., Hahlweg, P., Kriston, L., Härter, M., Zill, J., & Scholl, I. (2022). Development and content validity of the Experienced Patient‐Centeredness Questionnaire (EPAT)—A best practice example for generating patient‐reported measures from qualitative data. Health Expectations, 25(4), 1529-1538.

The psychometric properties of the EPAT were tested in a sample of a total of n=2,024 patients. Based on the results, the final module version was created, which captures all 16 dimensions with four items each (EPAT-64). There is also a short version, which captures each dimension with one item (EPAT-16). The EPAT is a generic measuring instrument, meaning it can be used across different diseases. There is a version for both outpatient and inpatient care. With the EPAT-64, there are some differences between the outpatient and inpatient versions. With the EPAT-16, all items are identical, only the instructions differ. The psychometric results for the module version can be found here:

Christalle, E., Zeh, S., Führes H., Schellhorn A., Hahlweg P., Zill J., Härter M., Bokemeyer C., Gallinat J., Gebhardt C., Magnussen C., Müller V., Schmalstieg-Bahr K., Strahl A., Kriston L., Scholl I. Through the patients’ eyes: psychometric evaluation of the 64-item version of the Experienced Patient-Centeredness Questionnaire (EPAT-64). BMJ Quality & Safety, Published Online First: 16 October 2024. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2024-017434

The development and psychometric testing of the EPAT was conducted as part of the ASPIRED study [ 3 ] and was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

You can download the different versions of the EPAT. They are freely available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 4.0 International License.