Mark D. Macek|D. A. Haynes|William Wells|Simon Bauer-Leffler|P. Ann Cotten|Ruth M. Parker
Measuring conceptual health knowledge in the context of oral health literacy: preliminary results
University of Baltimore|University of Baltimore|University of Baltimore|University of Baltimore|Emory University
abstract objectives health literacy encompasses several abilities including word recognition reading comprehension communication skills conceptual knowledge date conceptual knowledge included oral health literacy research study assesses validity reliability new instrument describes conceptual oral health knowledge among sample lowincome adults methods one hundred baltimore adults administered rapid estimate adult literacy medicine realm short test functional health literacy adults shorttofhla new survey conceptual oral health knowledge respondents also asked sociodemographics dental health utilization results psychometric analysis used identify subset oral health knowledge questions new survey instrument resulting comprehensive measure oral health knowledge cmohk categorized three levels knowledge poor fair good nearly onethird baltimore adults exhibited lowest level cmohk scores significantly associated age education level word recognition realm cmohk scores associated reading comprehension shorttofhla dental care visits instrument reliability good cronbach alpha 074 conclusions preliminary study yielded new measure oral health conceptual knowledge available use future oral health literacy studies author presents conceptual framework oral health literacy separates health literacy four unique components places decisionmaking center future studies needed determine whether framework supported empirical data leads improvements oral health reductions health disparities