title: Comparing Well-Tested Health Literacy Measures for Oral Health: A Pilot Assessment.
abstract: There has been growing national concern over the low health literacy of Americans and, coinciding with this, a growing importance placed on measuring health literacy. Health literacy is the ability to access, understand, and use information to make health decisions. Health literacy in an oral health context means access to accurate information about oral health, understanding the risks of neglecting oral care, and calculating the chances of getting periodontal disease. This exploratory study compared the 3 most popular and well-tested health literacy measures in an oral health setting. Using a survey of dental patients from safety net dental clinics in two states, we explored differences and similarities between health literacy measures as they pertained to oral health perceptions and oral self-efficacy. Findings indicated that the three health literacy measures were not interchangeable and had differential effects on data collected, which suggested differential relationships with oral health perceptions and outcomes.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Communication , University of Maryland , College Park , Maryland , USA.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aldoory
authors.affiliation: b Department of Dental Public Health , School of Dentistry, University of Maryland , Baltimore , Maryland , USA.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Macek
authors.affiliation: c Division of Public Health and Community Dentistry , School of Dentistry, University of California Los Angeles , Los Angeles , California , USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Atchison
authors.affiliation: b Department of Dental Public Health , School of Dentistry, University of Maryland , Baltimore , Maryland , USA.
authors.forename: Hayan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002140:California; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020377:Self Efficacy; D055815:Young Adult