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Kor PPK, Yu CTK, Li Y, Tsang APL, Tan LHZ, Lam SC, Lee PH, Liu JYW, Leung AYM, Lee KC. Development and validation of a health literacy scale for family caregivers of older people with chronic illness. BMC Nurs 2024; 23:447. [PMID: 38951836 PMCID: PMC11218080 DOI: 10.1186/s12912-024-02057-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Family caregivers (FCs) encounter a variety of health problems in older people with chronic illness, necessitating a certain level of health literacy to access, understand, appraise and apply health information and services. This study aimed to develop and validate a scale for measuring health literacy among FCs of older people with chronic illness. METHODS Concept mapping was first employed to develop a conceptual model of health literacy of FCs. Scale domains were derived from the conceptual model, and item generation was performed using deductive and inductive methods. Quantitative methods, including merging scale dimensions and items, expert reviews, cognitive interviews, and item reduction analysis, were used to refine the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to validate the scale's structure. Concurrent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were also examined. RESULTS A 20-dimension conceptual model was developed, and 60 items were generated for the scale. Expert review (content validity index > 0.85) and cognitive interview with FCs confirmed the relevance and clarity of the majority of the generated scale items. Confirmatory factor analysis with 451 FCs of older people with chronic illness supported a 5-factor structure (symptom management, daily personal care and household tasks, care coordination, communication and relationship with the care recipient, and self-care of caregivers) with 42 finalized scale items, including four levels of health literacy skills (accessing, understanding, appraising and applying health information). Concurrent validity with the European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) was satisfactory (r = 0.67, p < 0.01). The Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.96, with subscales ranging from 0.84 to 0.91. The two-week test-retest reliability was 0.77 (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION This study developed a conceptual model explaining the concept and factors of health literacy among FCs of older people with chronic illness that could provide the groundwork for future studies in developing relevant evidence-based interventions. A new Health Literacy Scale-Family Caregiver (HLS-FC) with satisfactory psychometric properties was developed in this study, which can be utilized to identify caregivers with insufficient health literacy and facilitate timely interventions by healthcare professionals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Clare Tsz Kiu Yu
- Division of Psychiatry, University of College London, London, UK
| | - Yaqin Li
- School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Alex Pak Lik Tsang
- School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lexi Han Zhi Tan
- School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Paul Hong Lee
- Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Justina Yat Wa Liu
- School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
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Fry JM, Antoniades J, Temple JB, Osborne RH, Cheng C, Hwang K, Brijnath B. Health literacy and older adults: Findings from a national population-based survey. Health Promot J Austr 2024; 35:487-503. [PMID: 37452578 DOI: 10.1002/hpja.779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
ISSUE ADDRESSED With an ageing population and growing complexity and fragmentation of health care systems, health literacy is increasingly important in managing health. This study investigated health literacy strengths and challenges reported by older Australians (people aged 65 or over) and identified how socio-demographic and health factors related to their health literacy profiles. METHODS The sample comprised 1578 individuals responding to the Australian Government's 2018 Health Literacy Survey, conducted between January and August. Regression modelling was used to estimate the association between each of nine domains of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) and individual socio-demographic and health characteristics. The model allowed for correlation between HLQ scores that was linked to unobserved characteristics of individuals. RESULTS Across the health literacy domains, few individuals received mean scores in the lowest score range. Key individual characteristics associated with higher health literacy were increasing age, English proficiency, higher education levels, better self-assessed health and having certain chronic conditions (cancer, hypertension and arthritis). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that, among those aged 65 or over, being older or living with chronic illnesses were associated with greater confidence in engaging with providers, accessing information and navigating health services compared to individuals aged 65-69 and those older individuals without chronic illness. Lower health literacy was associated with psychological distress and low English proficiency. SO WHAT?: Interventions to improve individual health literacy and organisation health literacy responsiveness to minimise complexity of the Australian health system are required. This may enhance uptake and use of health information and services for the underserviced members of the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane M Fry
- Demography and Ageing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Jo Antoniades
- National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jeromey B Temple
- Demography and Ageing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Richard H Osborne
- Centre of Global Health and Equity, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
| | - Christina Cheng
- Centre of Global Health and Equity, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kerry Hwang
- National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Bianca Brijnath
- National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Dijkman EM, ter Brake WWM, Drossaert CHC, Doggen CJM. Assessment Tools for Measuring Health Literacy and Digital Health Literacy in a Hospital Setting: A Scoping Review. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 12:11. [PMID: 38200917 PMCID: PMC10778720 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12010011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Assessment of (digital) health literacy in the hospital can raise staff awareness and facilitate tailored communication, leading to improved health outcomes. Assessment tools should ideally address multiple domains of health literacy, fit to the complex hospital context and have a short administration time, to enable routine assessment. This review aims to create an overview of tools for measuring (digital) health literacy in hospitals. A search in Scopus, PubMed, WoS and CINAHL, following PRISMA guidelines, generated 7252 hits; 251 studies were included in which 44 assessment tools were used. Most tools (57%) were self-reported and 27% reported an administration time of <5 min. Almost all tools addressed the domain 'understanding' (98%), followed by 'access' (52%), 'apply' (50%), 'appraise' (32%), 'numeracy' (18%), and 'digital' (18%). Only four tools were frequently used: the Newest Vital Sign (NVS), the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy for Adults ((S)TOFHLA), the Brief Health Literacy Screener (BHLS), and the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ). While the NVS and BHLS have a low administration time, they cover only two domains. HLQ covers the most domains: access, understanding, appraise, and apply. None of these four most frequently used tools measured digital skills. This review can guide health professionals in choosing an instrument that is feasible in their daily practice, and measures the required domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline M. Dijkman
- Department of Health Technology and Services Research (HTSR), Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands; (E.M.D.)
- Department of Surgery, Isala Hospital, 8025 AB Zwolle, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter W. M. ter Brake
- Department of Health Technology and Services Research (HTSR), Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands; (E.M.D.)
| | | | - Carine J. M. Doggen
- Department of Health Technology and Services Research (HTSR), Technical Medical Centre, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands; (E.M.D.)
- Clinical Research Center, Rijnstate Hospital, 6815 AD Arnhem, The Netherlands
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Tavousi M, Mohammadi S, Sadighi J, Zarei F, Kermani RM, Rostami R, Montazeri A. Measuring health literacy: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis of instruments from 1993 to 2021. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0271524. [PMID: 35839272 PMCID: PMC9286266 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND It has been about 30 years since the first health literacy instrument was developed. This study aimed to review all existing instruments to summarize the current knowledge on the development of existing measurement instruments and their possible translation and validation in other languages different from the original languages. METHODS The review was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar on all published papers on health literacy instrument development and psychometric properties in English biomedical journals from 1993 to the end of 2021. RESULTS The findings were summarized and synthesized on several headings, including general instruments, condition specific health literacy instruments (disease & content), population- specific instruments, and electronic health. Overall, 4848 citations were retrieved. After removing duplicates (n = 2336) and non-related papers (n = 2175), 361 studies (162 papers introducing an instrument and 199 papers reporting translation and psychometric properties of an original instrument) were selected for the final review. The original instruments included 39 general health literacy instruments, 90 condition specific (disease or content) health literacy instruments, 22 population- specific instruments, and 11 electronic health literacy instruments. Almost all papers reported reliability and validity, and the findings indicated that most existing health literacy instruments benefit from some relatively good psychometric properties. CONCLUSION This review highlighted that there were more than enough instruments for measuring health literacy. In addition, we found that a number of instruments did not report psychometric properties sufficiently. However, evidence suggest that well developed instruments and those reported adequate measures of validation could be helpful if appropriately selected based on objectives of a given study. Perhaps an authorized institution such as World Health Organization should take responsibility and provide a clear guideline for measuring health literacy as appropriate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud Tavousi
- Health Metrics Research Center, ACECR, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, Tehran, Iran
| | - Samira Mohammadi
- Health Metrics Research Center, ACECR, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jila Sadighi
- Health Metrics Research Center, ACECR, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Zarei
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Health Education, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ramin Mozafari Kermani
- Health Metrics Research Center, ACECR, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, Tehran, Iran
| | - Rahele Rostami
- Health Metrics Research Center, ACECR, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Montazeri
- Health Metrics Research Center, ACECR, Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, Tehran, Iran
- Faculty of Humanity Sciences, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran
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Use of the English Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) with Health Science University Students in Nepal: A Validity Testing Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19063241. [PMID: 35328928 PMCID: PMC8953246 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19063241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Research evidence shows that health literacy development is a key factor influencing non-communicable diseases care and patient outcomes. Healthcare professionals with strong health literacy skills are essential for providing quality care. We aimed to report the validation testing of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) among health professional students in Nepal. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 419 health sciences students using the HLQ in Nepal. Validation testing and reporting were conducted using five sources outlined by ‘the 2014 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing’. The average difficulty was lowest (17.4%) for Scale 4. Social support for health, and highest (51.9%) for Scale 6. Ability to actively engage with healthcare providers. One factor Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) model showed a good fit for Scale 2, Scale 7 and Scale 9 and a reasonable fit for Scale 3 and Scale 4. The restricted nine-factor CFA model showed a satisfactory level of fit. The use of HLQ is seen to be meaningful in Nepal and warrants translation into native Nepali and other dominant local languages with careful consideration of cultural appropriateness using cognitive interviews.
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Jacinto AF, Hill K, Toye C, Ferreira M, Bertoni A, Slatyer S, Burton E. Test-retest reliability of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ-Br) in Brazilian carers of older people. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) 2021; 67:500-504. [PMID: 34495051 DOI: 10.1590/1806-9282.20201102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Keith Hill
- Monash University - Melbourne, Australia
| | | | - Marília Ferreira
- Universidade Estadual Paulista, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu - Botucatu (SP), Brazil
| | - Aline Bertoni
- Universidade Estadual Paulista, Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu - Botucatu (SP), Brazil
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