The Numeracy Understanding in Medicine Instrument

Marilyn M. Schapira, Cindy M. Walker, Kevin J. Cappaert, Pamela S. Ganschow, Kathlyn E. Fletcher, Emily L. McGinley, Sam Del Pozo, Carrie Schauer, Sergey Tarima and Elizabeth A. Jacobs

Medical Decision Making, 2012, vol. 32, issue 6, 851-865

Abstract: Background : Health numeracy can be defined as the ability to understand and apply information conveyed with numbers, tables and graphs, probabilities, and statistics to effectively communicate with health care providers, take care of one’s health, and participate in medical decisions. Objective : To develop the Numeracy Understanding in Medicine Instrument (NUMi) using item response theory scaling methods. Design : A 20-item test was formed drawing from an item bank of numeracy questions. Items were calibrated using responses from 1000 participants and a 2-parameter item response theory model. Construct validity was assessed by comparing scores on the NUMi to established measures of print and numeric health literacy, mathematic achievement, and cognitive aptitude. Participants: Community and clinical populations in the Milwaukee and Chicago metropolitan areas. Results : Twenty-nine percent of the 1000 respondents were Hispanic, 24% were non-Hispanic white, and 42% were non-Hispanic black. Forty-one percent had no more than a high school education. The mean score on the NUMi was 13.2 ( s = 4.6) with a Cronbach α of 0.86. Difficulty and discrimination item response theory parameters of the 20 items ranged from −1.70 to 1.45 and 0.39 to 1.98, respectively. Performance on the NUMi was strongly correlated with the Wide Range Achievement Test–Arithmetic (0.73, P

Keywords: decision aids; shared decision making; risk communication; risk perception; health literacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:medema:v:32:y:2012:i:6:p:851-865

DOI: 10.1177/0272989X12447239

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