title: Validation of Turkish health literacy measures.
abstract: This study aimed to validate a Turkish version of the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy (S-TOFHLA) (Baker et al, Development of a brief test to measure functional health literacy. Patient Educ Counsel 1999; 38: :33-42) and a Turkish version of the Chew self-report scale (Chew et al., Brief questions to identify patients with inadequate health literacy. Family Med, 2004; 36: :588-94) for measuring functional health literacy. The original English version of the S-TOFHLA and the Chew items were translated by applying standardized translation methods and cultural adaptations, and both were administered to a sample of diabetes patients (N = 302) in two diabetes clinics in one of the major cities in Turkey. Self-administered paper-pencil questionnaires were distributed to eligible outpatients who had a clinic appointment. In addition to the S-TOFHLA measurement and the Chew screening questions, gender, age, educational attainment, income, marital status and diabetes knowledge were obtained. The Turkish version of S-TOFHLA showed high internal consistency. Both S-TOFHLA and the Chew screening scale correlated significantly with known predictors of health literacy: age, education and income. The Chew scale was also related weakly but significantly with general diabetes knowledge. It is expected that the Turkish versions of S-TOFHLA and the Chew scale will be used in Turkey as well as in other countries with large Turkish communities.
authors.affiliation: Public Relations and Publicity Department, Maltepe University, Marmara Eğitim Köyü, Maltepe, Istanbul 34857, Turkey ezgieyuboglu@maltepe.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Ezgi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eyüboğlu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Communication and Health, Università Della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Schulz
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey
keywords: S-TOFHLA; health literacy; measurement; validity