title: Brief screening items to identify spanish-speaking adults with limited health literacy and numeracy skills.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Limited health literacy (HL) and numeracy have been shown to be associated with a wide array of poor health-related outcomes, knowledge, and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of brief HL and numeracy screening items in identifying Spanish-speaking adults' HL and numeracy skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied convenience samples of native Spanish-speaking adults in Columbus, Ohio. A trained research assistant administered sociodemographic items, HL and numeracy screening items, Short Assessment of Health Literacy (SAHL), and Newest Vital Sign (NVS) to participants in Spanish.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants (n = 151) averaged 36.8 ± 11.0 years of age and 54.7% were female. Average SAHL score was 15.7 ± 2.8 (range = 4 to 18), while the average NVS score was 1.7 ± 1.5 (range = 0 to 6). "How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?" performed best in detecting limited NVS scores (AUROC = 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.57-0.75), limited/marginal NVS scores (AUROC = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.65-0.84), and inadequate SAHL scores (AUROC = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.58-0.79).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A single HL screening item is useful for quickly estimating HL and numeracy skills in native Spanish-speaking adults.
authors.affiliation: The Ohio State University, Wexner College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. Rashmi.Singh@osumc.edu.
authors.forename: Rashmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA. l.lynn.scott@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laura Scott
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Coyne
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, The Ohio State University, 2231 North High Street, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. Lorraine.Wallace@osumc.edu.
authors.forename: Lorraine S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Wallace
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D000067010:Literacy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009820:Ohio