Medication Literacy Assessment in Spanish & English

Domains assessed: Prose: Comprehension, Numeracy, Information seeking: Document

Specific context: General

Validation sample population age: Adults: 18 to 64 years

Modes of administration in validation study: Face-to-face

Number of items: 20

Sample size in validation study: 181

Language of validated version: English

Categorical scoring: No

Scoring categories: Possible range: 0-20, ↑scores = ↑HL

Country where validated: United States of America

Content validity: The MedLitRxSE tool was conceptualized by pharmacy practice faculty. To develop the items and scenarios for the tool, the faculty met with a diverse expert panel for consultation. This panel consisted of regional/national health literacy experts (4 people), community health educators (1 promotoras and 1 specialist), a lactation specialist, a nurse, family medicine physicians (1 with obstetrics/gynecology focus and 1 with pediatric and adult medicine focus), local pharmacists (5 people), and a poison control center educator who identified problems frequently encountered by English- and Spanish-speaking patients in community pharmacies and family practice clinics on the U.S.–Mexico border. The expert panel also incorporated feedback from 7 community focus groups (clinic and nonclinic setting), as well as findings from other health literacy studies. To have a balanced but short measurement tool, the panel developed 4 cases around the common use of prescription, OTC, herbal, and Mexican medications. Using information from the expert panel, focus groups, and literature review, the specific items for each case were developed. This developmental process (approximately 6 months) resulted in the first version of the tool (20 items) that incorporated real-life problems of interpreting medication documents, following instructions, and calculating numbers for dosing.

Reliability notes: Internal consistency: KR20=0.78 English, and KR20=0.80 Spanish