title: Development and validation of an instrument to assess oral health literacy in Norwegian adult dental patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop and validate an interview instrument to assess oral health literacy in Norwegian adult dental patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The instrument, Adult Health Literacy Instrument for Dentistry (AHLID), was based on an OECD instrument used to assess general literacy in adults. One hundred and thirty Norwegian adults (mean age = 48 years; 57% women) participated. AHLID included a selection of oral health-related printed texts that ranged from 1-5 with respect to difficulty. A questionnaire regarding socio-demographic variables and knowledge of risk factors for oral disease was used. DMFT, stimulated salivary flow rate and streptococcus mutans and lactobacillus in saliva was also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Cronbach's alpha values of AHLID were 0.98 for internal consistency reliability (p < 0.01) and 0.81 for test-re-test reliability (p < 0.05). AHLID score 3 was most frequent while very few fulfilled the criteria for score 1 and 5. Linear multiple regression analysis showed that lactobacillus in saliva and knowledge of risk factors for periodontitis and caries were predictor variables of AHLID score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AHLID appears to be reliable and valid to assess oral health literacy in Norwegian adults and suggests a method for country-specific health literacy instruments.
authors: Department of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway , Tromsø , Norway.
authors: Linda
authors: L
authors: Stein
authors: Kjell Sverre
authors: KS
authors: Pettersen
authors: Maud
authors: M
authors: Bergdahl
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: Bergdahl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D058491:Bacterial Load; D032882:Comprehension; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000209:etiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D012636:Secretory Rate / Q000502:physiology; D012907:Smoking; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Health literacy; health literacy instrument; instrument validation; oral health literacy