Machi Suka|Takeshi Odajima|Masayuki Kasai|Ataru Igarashi|Hirono Ishikawa|Makiko Kusama|Takeo Nakayama|Masahiko Sumitani|Hiroki Sugimori
The 14-item health literacy scale for Japanese adults (HLS-14)
Jikei University School of Medicine|Japanese Red Cross Society, Japan|Daito Bunka University|The University of Tokyo|University of Tokyo Health Sciences|The University of Tokyo|Kyoto University|University of Tokyo Hospital|Daito Bunka University
existing tools measuring health literacy hl focus reading comprehension numeracy english speakers aim study develop generic hl measure japanese adultsa questionnaire survey conducted among participants multiphasic health examinations japanese healthcare facility hl measured using 14item health literacy scale hls14 adapted hl scale specific diabetic patients developed ishikawa colleagues 14 items consist five items functional hl five items communicative hl four items critical hl reliability validity hls14 assessed among 1507 eligible respondents aged 3069 yearsexplanatory factor analysis produced threefactor solution similar original hl scale cronbachs alpha indicated satisfactory internal consistency functional communicative critical hl scores 083 085 076 respectively floor ceiling effects hl score confirmatory factor analysis revealed acceptable fit threefactor model comparative fit index 0912 normed fit index 0905 root mean square error approximation 0082 two groups total hl score median 50 respectively compared could obtain medication information satisfactorily wanted participate making medication decisions frequently observed group higher scorethe hls14 demonstrated adequate reliability validity generic hl measure japanese adults scale utilized measuring functional communicative critical hl clinical public health contexts