Validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Newest Vital Sign: a preliminary study.
Health literacy (HL) refers to the ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services, and is thus needed to make appropriate health decisions. The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) is comprised of 6 questions about an ice cream nutrition label and assesses HL numeracy skills. We developed a Japanese version of the NVS (NVS-J) and evaluated the validity and reliability of the NVS-J in patients with chronic pain. The translation of the original NVS into Japanese was achieved as per the published guidelines. An observational study was subsequently performed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the NVS-J in 43 Japanese patients suffering from chronic pain. Factor analysis with promax rotation, using the Kaiser criterion (eigenvalues ≥1.0), and a scree plot revealed that the main component of the NVS-J consists of three determinative factors, and each factor consists of two NVS-J items. The criterion-related validity of the total NVS-J score was significantly correlated with the total score of Ishikawa et al.'s self-rated HL Questionnaire, the clinical global assessment of comprehensive HL level, cognitive function, and the Brinkman index. In addition, Cronbach's coefficient for the total score of the NVS-J was adequate (alpha = 0.72). This study demonstrated that the NVS-J has good validity and reliability. Further, the NVS-J consists of three determinative factors: "basic numeracy ability," "complex numeracy ability," and "serious-minded ability." These three HL abilities comprise a 3-step hierarchical structure. Adequate HL should be promoted in chronic pain patients to enable coping, improve functioning, and increase activities of daily living (ADLs) and quality of life (QOL).
Department of Health Policy Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Science, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Relief Center, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Takamichi
T
Kogure
Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Relief Center, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Masahiko
M
Sumitani
Department of Public Health and Environmental Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Machi
M
Suka
Department of Health Communication, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Hirono
H
Ishikawa
Japanese Red Cross Kanto-Koshinetsu Block Blood Center, Tokyo, Japan.
Takeshi
T
Odajima
Department of Drug Policy and Management, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Ataru
A
Igarashi
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Regulatory Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Makiko
M
Kusama
Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Masako
M
Okamoto
Department of Preventive Medicine, Graduate School of Sports and Health Sciences, Daito Bunka University, Saitama, Japan.
Hiroki
H
Sugimori
Department of Health Policy Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Kazuo
K
Kawahara
D000368:Aged; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011788:Quality of Life; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid