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Gaceta médica de México
On-line version ISSN 2696-1288Print version ISSN 0016-3813
Abstract
GARCIA-VERA, Eva M.; DOUBOVA, Svetlana V.; SANCHEZ-ARENAS, Rosalinda and MONROY-GUZMAN, Adriana. Validation of the health literacy scale in patients with hypertension in Mexico. Gac. Méd. Méx [online]. 2023, vol.159, n.4, pp.329-337. Epub Sep 25, 2023. ISSN 2696-1288. https://doi.org/10.24875/gmm.23000118.
Background:
Health literacy integrates skills around health care. The measurement of health literacy is relevant for proposing improvement interventions. The European HLS-EU-Q16 scale allows to comprehensively evaluate health literacy, but its psychometric properties have not been assessed in Mexico.
Objective:
To validate the HLS-EU-Q16 scale in patients with hypertension in Mexico.
Material and methods:
A validation study of a measuring instrument was carried out. The construct was evaluated by means of factor analysis; internal consistency, using Cronbach's alpha; and test-retest reliability, using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The information was collected by interviewing 349 patients with hypertension in a family medicine unit of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, from April to June 2022.
Results:
In 23.8% of the patients, health literacy was inadequate; in 44.4%, problematic; and in 31.8%, sufficient. The scale was found to retain 12 items and two factors (HLS-EU-Q12M). Cronbach's alpha was 0.83, and ICC was 0.94.
Conclusion:
The HLS-EU-Q12M scale in Mexican Spanish is a valid instrument for assessing health literacy in adults with hypertension.
Keywords : Health literacy; Validation study; Hypertension.