Reliability and Validity of the Korean version of Short-Form Health Literacy Scale for Adults

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Korean version of Short-form Health Literacy Scale (HLS-SF-K12) for Adults. @*Methods@#The English HLS-SF12 was translated into Korean with forward and backward translation. Survey data were collected from 204 adults who visited two hospitals in Korea. Content validity, construct validity, and known-groups validity were evaluated. Cronbach's ⍺ for internal consistency and test-retest were used to assess reliability. SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0 software were used for data analysis. @*Results@#The HLS-SF-K12 was composed of 12 items, and three subscales (health care, disease prevention, and health promotion). The instrument explained reliable internal consistency with Cronbach’s ⍺ for the total scale of .89, and .74~.81 for subscales. The model of three subscales for the HLS-SF-K12 was validated by confirmatory factor analysis (Normed x 2 =2.14 (p<.001), GFI=.92, RMR=.04, RMSEA=.08, CFI=.94, TLI=.92, IFI=.94). The hypothesis testing which analyzed the differences in health literacy by age and education level was satisfied. @*Conclusion@#The HLS-SF-K12 is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring health information comprehension for adults in Korea.