Health care provider knowledge and awareness of limited health literacy continues to be a challenge. Educational programs developed for providers and patients are needed to address the health literacy crisis. Improving health literacy will improve health outcomes while reducing the use of unnecessary health care services.
Health literacy, although an important topic in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), often eclipses health numeracy, which may be equally important for those living with this disease. Health numeracy is the knowledge and application of numerical concepts in health decisions. In our synthesis of the literature, the emerging concept of health numeracy in relation to HIV disease management is reviewed within the context of health literacy. Specifically, we examine health literacy and numeracy by gender, race, education, and age group. From this synthesis, we identify practical implications of health numeracy related to HIV.
Background:
Low health literacy impacts individual health and the health care system. The Health Literacy Knowledge and Experience Survey (HLKES) was created to evaluate preparedness of nurses to provide health literate care. However, the instrument was developed a decade ago and needs revision. The purpose of this study was to update and shorten the HLKES into a feasible, valid, and reliable instrument.
Method:
The HLKES was refined into a 14-item instrument (10 knowledge questions and four experience questions). Expert review was obtained. Face validity was assessed, and pilot and field testing with students was conducted.
Results:
Scale content validity index was 0.95, and individual questions demonstrated appropriate item difficulty and discrimination. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was .565 for the 10 multiple choice questions and .843 for the four Likert-type questions, indicating good reliability.
Conclusion:
A reliable and valid HLKES-2 was developed to evaluate health literacy knowledge and experiences in a contemporary setting.
[
J Nurs Educ
. 2019;58(2):86–92.]
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