Characteristics
Domains assessed:
Prose: Comprehension
Specific context:
Health Promotion
Validation sample population age:
Adults: 18 to 64 years
Modes of administration in validation study:
Paper and pencil
Psychometrics
Number of items:
66
Sample size in validation study:
681
Language of validated version:
Taiwanese
Main article reference
Pan, F., Su, C.L., & Chen, & C.H. (2010). Development of a health literacy scale for Chinese-Speaking adults in Taiwan. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 4:1021-1027.
Corresponding author
Frank Pan
Description
General medical word recognition test that reflects health terms used in Taiwan, and includes a subjective 5-point rating scale of respondent’s perceived word comprehension
Year Measure first Published: 2010
About This Measure
Categorical scoring:
Yes
Scoring categories:
Sum score based on 5-point Likert-type scale, with 3.0 = acceptable HL, 2.0 = moderate HL, and 1.7 = poor HL
About the Validation of this Measure
Country where validated:
Taiwan
Content validity:
A health literacy panel was created. 5 dimensions of health were considered. Each member of the research team first chose 100 terms from the literacy panel. All terms were consolidated. 5 healthcare clinicians and experts were invited to examine the list. These experts are physicians from family medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, and neurology, a surgeon of physical medicine and rehabilitation, and a vice director of a medical center who is an expert of public health. The 90 terms that concurrently appear in every individual list are kept, and 50 additional terms are then added as suggested by the expert group. After 2 rounds of Delphi technique and discussion, 125 items reached a common agreement. In the last stage, 5 items were replaced based on an initial reliability test. S health knowledge scale was developed to screen unreliable responses. The health knowledge scale contains 10 questions that are popular in clinical offices. This scale is used to assure the truth of a respondent’s reaction to the self-response scale. Additionally, the health knowledge scale may provide additional evidence for the validity of the health literacy scale by examining the mutual relationship of health knowledge and health literacy. Ultimately the 125 items were reduced to 66 because that is what other scales did.
