127 Background: Poor comprehension of prostate cancer (PCa) related terms can create barriers to informed discussions on screening, treatment, and measuring outcomes, and contribute to disparities in African American (AA) men. We developed a screening tool to assess for low PCa-related health literacy. Methods: We assessed PCa-related literacy in a sample of 189 AA men, age >40 years from diverse socioeconomic status (SES) using a 27-item scale derived comprehension of commonly used terms for urinary, bowel and sexual function. Using item-response models we examined differential item functioning by education. We developed rapid screening tools based on understanding of 1 or 2 words to predict overall comprehension. Receiver operating characteristic curves assessed the sensitivity and specificity for individuals understanding less than a pre-specified threshold of 70% on the overall scale, defined as “low literacy.” Results are being tested in an independent sample of 110 AA men. Results: The 27-item scale had good internal reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.93). 47% of the sample met criteria for low literacy. Lower education groups had relatively poor comprehension of sexual function terms compared to higher education groups. 1-item scales using comprehension of the term “rectal urgency” had a sensitivity of 95% for identifying low literacy, “erection” had a specificity of 98%, and “vaginal intercourse” had a sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 81%. Combining “vaginal intercourse” and “rectal urgency” yielded a 2-item scale with strong characteristics (sensitivity 88%, specificity 89%), as did combining “vaginal intercourse” and “erection” (sensitivity 94%, specificity 81%). Conclusions: Rapid screening tools assessing PCa-related literacy performed well in a community sample of AA men with varied SES. Providers can use these tools to identify those at risk of poor comprehension to tailor outcome measurement and shared decision making. [Table: see text]
Development and Validation of an Environmental Health Literacy Assessment Screening Tool for Domestic Well Owners: The Water Environmental Literacy Level Scale (WELLS)
