12-item Short Form Health Literacy Scale

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Characteristics
Domains assessed: Numeracy, Organizational Health Literacy
Specific context: General Health Promotion
Validation sample population age: Adults: 18 to 64 years, Older Adults: 65+ years
Modes of administration in validation study : Face-to-face, Paper and pencil
Assessment: Self-reported
Cost: Free

Psychometrics
Sample size in validation study: 365
Language of validated version: Taiwanese

Main article reference

Chen, Y.-J., Wu, M.-H., Yu, C.-L., Huang, W.-C., Tung, L.-S., & Tsai, L.-M. (2026). Health literacy and digital health service use among community residents in Taiwan: implications from a pilot assessment using the HLS-SF12. BMC Public Health, 26, 908. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-26406-4

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Corresponding author
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Yen-Ju Chen
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Description

The 12-item Short-Form Health Literacy Scale (HLS-SF12) is a brief self-report instrument that measures an individual's perceived difficulty in accessing, understanding, evaluating, and applying health information. It specifically evaluates these core health literacy skills across three distinct domains: healthcare, disease prevention, and health promotion.

Year Measure first Published: 2026

Additional Articles:

About This Measure
Categorical scoring: No
Modern Approach for Tool Development: Yes

About the Validation of this Measure
Country where validated: Taiwan
Content validity: The HLS-SF12 is a previously validated, shortened version of the 47-item European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire, endorsed by the International Health Literacy Association.
Reliability (Cronbach Alpha): 0.92
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