Tools to Measure Health Literacy among Adult Hispanic Populations with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Review of the Literature

Carrie S. Standage-Beier, Shelby G. Ziller, Bahar Bakhshi, Oscar D. Parra, Lawrence J. Mandarino, Lindsay N. Kohler and Dawn K. Coletta ()
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Carrie S. Standage-Beier: School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Shelby G. Ziller: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Bahar Bakhshi: School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Oscar D. Parra: UA Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Lawrence J. Mandarino: UA Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Lindsay N. Kohler: UA Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Dawn K. Coletta: UA Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-10

Abstract: Health literacy (HL) is associated with short- and long-term health outcomes, and this is particularly relevant in Hispanics, who are disproportionally affected by lower HL. Hispanics have become the largest minority population in the United States. Also, Hispanics experience higher burdens of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) than non-Hispanic whites. Thus, effectively choosing culturally appropriate validated instruments that measure a marker found in health assessments should be a serious consideration. Using a systemized approach, we identified and reviewed 33 publications and found eight different HL and numeracy (separate or combined) instruments. We assessed the study designs and instrument structures to determine how HL was measured across these studies. We categorized the results into direct and indirect measurements of HL. The Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) family of HL instruments was favored for direct measures of HL, while the Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS) instrument was favored for indirect measures. Despite identified trends in instruments used, more comprehensive measurement tools have been developed but not validated in Hispanic populations. In conclusion, further validation of more comprehensive HL instruments in adult Hispanic populations with T2DM could better assess HL levels and improve health promotion efforts.

Keywords: health literacy; numeracy; Hispanic; type 2 diabetes; health promotion; health assessments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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