Subjective health literacy: Development of a brief instrument for school-aged children.
Scand J Public Health
; 44(8): 751-757, 2016 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27655781
ABSTRACT
AIMS:
The present paper focuses on the measurement of health literacy (HL), which is an important determinant of health and health behaviours. HL starts to develop in childhood and adolescence; hence, there is a need for instruments to monitor HL among younger age groups. These instruments are still rare. The aim of the project reported here was, therefore, to develop a brief, multidimensional, theory-based instrument to measure subjective HL among school-aged children.METHODS:
The development of the instrument covered four phases item generation based on a conceptual framework; a pilot study ( n = 405); test-retest ( n = 117); and construction of the instrument ( n = 3853). All the samples were taken from Finnish 7th and 9th graders.RESULTS:
Initially, 65 items were generated, of which 32 items were selected for the pilot study. After item reduction, the instrument contained 16 items. The test-retest phase produced estimates of stability. In the final phase a 10-item instrument was constructed, referred to as Health Literacy for School-Aged Children (HLSAC). The instrument exhibited a high Cronbach alpha (0.93), and included two items from each of the five predetermined theoretical components (theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge, critical thinking, self-awareness, citizenship).CONCLUSIONS:
The iterative and validity-driven development process made it possible to construct a brief multidimensional HLSAC instrument. Such instruments are suitable for large-scale studies, and for use with children and adolescents. Validation will require further testing for use in other countries.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Encuestas y Cuestionarios
/
Alfabetización en Salud
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Scand J Public Health
Asunto de la revista:
MEDICINA SOCIAL
/
SAUDE PUBLICA
Año:
2016
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Finlandia