J Korean Acad Community Health Nurs.  2015 Dec;26(4):330-341. 10.12799/jkachn.2015.26.4.330.

Development of a Health Literacy Assessment Scale for Asian Immigrant Women in South Korea

• An J
• Yang SJ

• KMID: 2173830
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2015.26.4.330

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study developed a self-report measure for easy assessing of the health literacy of Asian immigrant women in South Korea.
METHODS
After a literature review, focus group interviews, and content validity evaluation, 14 preliminary items were generated. These were translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, and English. Data were collected from 229 Asian immigrant women. Validity and reliability tests were conducted.
RESULTS
Factor analysis yielded final 10 items in three factors: primary functional and interactive health literacy, secondary functional and interactive health literacy, and critical health literacy, which explained 61.90% of the total variance of health literacy. In known-group comparisons, health literacy was significantly lower in recent immigrants, those with a low education level, and those with low Korean language proficiency. For convergent validity, health literacy was positively associated with health specific self-efficacy and maternal health knowledge. For criterion-related validity, health literacy was positively associated with the REALM-SF. The overall reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) of the instrument was .773.
CONCLUSION
The Health Literacy Assessment Scale for Asian Immigrant Women (HLAS) represents a multidimensional construct which encompasses functional, interactive, and critical health literacy. This self-report HLAS can be a useful and convenient method for appraising the health literacy of Asian immigrant women.

Keyword

Health literacy; Immigrant; Women

MeSH Terms

Asian Continental Ancestry Group*
Education
Emigrants and Immigrants*
Female
Focus Groups
Health Literacy*
Humans
Korea*
Maternal Health
Reproducibility of Results

Reference

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