title: Quality of life, health status, and health service utilization related to a new measure of health literacy: FLIGHT/VIDAS.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Researchers have identified significant limitations in some currently used measures of health literacy. The purpose of this paper is to present data on the relation of health-related quality of life, health status, and health service utilization to performance on a new measure of health literacy in a nonpatient population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The new measure was administered to 475 English- and Spanish-speaking community-dwelling volunteers along with existing measures of health literacy and assessments of health-related quality of life, health status, and healthcare service utilization. Relations among measures were assessed via correlations and health status and utilization was tested across levels of health literacy using ANCOVA models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The new health literacy measure is significantly related to existing measures of health literacy as well as to participants' health-related quality of life. Persons with lower levels of health literacy reported more health conditions, more frequent physical symptoms, and greater healthcare service utilization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The new measure of health literacy is valid and shows relations to measures of conceptually related constructs such as quality of life and health behaviors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FLIGHT/VIDAS may be useful to researchers and clinicians interested in a computer administered and scored measure of health literacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, USA. Electronic address: ro71@nova.edu.
authors.forename: Raymond L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Ownby
authors.affiliation: Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
authors.forename: Amarilis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acevedo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
authors.forename: Robin J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caballero
authors.affiliation: Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, USA.
authors.forename: Drenna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Waldrop-Valverde
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D057220:Health Literacy; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: FLIGHT/VIDAS; Health literacy; Healthcare service utilization; Quality of life