A New Health Literacy Instrument

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In a 2013 article entitled “Development and validation of a measure of health literacy in the UK: the newest vital sign”, researchers sought to validate a new measure of health literacy in a UK population.  Health literacy is defined as “the cognitive and social skills that determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways that promote and maintain good health”, and individuals with lower health literacy are at a greater risk for poor health.  The instrument examined in this study is known as the Newest Vital Sign health literacy instrument, and it is quick and easy, utilizes a nutrition label, and addresses both literacy and numeracy skills.  The process of amending and validating this instrument required three different steps.  The first was to do a study with experts in the field to ensure that the NVS was appropriate to use with a UK population, as opposed to a US population from which the instrument was generated.  The second step was to test it in the community in order to make improvements in its ease of understanding and acceptability.  The third step was to validate the new instrument using an already-accepted health literacy test.  After all three steps were completed, the researchers established a Newest Vital Sign instrument which had high internal consistency and didn’t need any further refinements.  This is important in the field of nutrition because it increases the ease with which health literacy can be assessed and patient care can be adjusted accordingly.


Ashley

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