NIFL Health Literacy Listserv Discussion on Evaluating and Measuring Health Literacy (March 5, 2010)

Next week, there will be a special guest discussion on NIFL's Health Literacy list on "Evaluating and Measuring Health Literacy" from March 8-12, 2010. If you are interested in subscribing to the list so that you can partake in the discussion, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Healthliteracy/#sub

Discussion description:
Measuring health literacy is a tricky and complicated process. In part, this is because there are so many aspects to potentially include in an evaluation methodology. The challenge of measuring health literacy is also compounded by the many contexts in which health literacy can be evaluated from different diseases to different stages of life to different health system contexts. Further, there is the two-sided nature of health literacy: We can focus on measuring the health literacy of individuals as patients, but we should also focus on measuring the health literacy of health professionals and health systems as it relates to their ability to serve their patient population.

There are several existing screeners of health literacy at the moment, and more are under development. But the field as a whole is still working on coming to a consensus on what should be measured, how it should be measured, and who should be evaluated.

In this discussion we will collectively explore the existing screeners and measures of health literacy and discuss their uses and limitations. We will also discuss the elements of what a rigorous measure of health literacy might focus on and what kinds of conceptual work and rigorous testing are needed to in order to continue to collectively advance the field of health literacy.