Barry D. Weiss
Quick Assessment of Literacy in Primary Care: The Newest Vital Sign
University of Arizona|Community Science and Data Center
current health literacy screening instruments health care settings either long routine use available english objective develop quick accurate screening test limited literacy available english spanishwe administered candidate items new instrument also test functional health literacy adults tofhla englishspeaking spanishspeaking primary care patients measured internal consistency cronbachs alpha assessed criterion validity measuring correlations tofhla scores using toflha scores 75 define limited literacy plotted receiveroperating characteristics roc curves calculated likelihood ratios cutoff scores new instrumentthe final instrument newest vital sign nvs nutrition label accompanied 6 questions requires 3 minutes administration reliable cronbach alpha 076 english 069 spanish correlates tofhla area roc curve 088 english 072 spanish versions patients 4 correct responses unlikely low literacy whereas fewer 4 correct answers indicate possibility limited literacynvs suitable use quick screening test limited literacy primary health care settings