A Study on the Reliability and Validity of the Korean Health Literacy Instrument for Late School-Aged Children

This study aimed to develop and validate the Korean Health Literacy Instrument, which measures Korean late school-aged children’s understanding capacity. The construct’s concepts were drawn from the literature review and interviews with school nurses and teachers. A survey was then conducted in 552 fifth and sixth graders in nine elementary schools, from 1 to 9 May 2014. The KR-20 coefficient for reliability, difficulty index, discrimination index, item-total correlation, and known group technique for validity were performed. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to test the construct validity of the instrument and its unidimensionality. The results reveal that a two-factor structure was appropriate for the Korean school-age health literacy tool (root mean square error of approximation = 0.06, Comparative Fit Index = 0.96, and Tucker–Lewis Index = 0.95). From the remaining 16 items, the internal consistency reliability coefficient of this instrument was 0.85, and the criterion-related validity was 0.62 (p < 0.001). The Korean health literacy instrument for late school-aged children was suitable for screening individuals who have limited health literacy. Based on the findings of this study, future studies must continue to conduct empirical investigations on the Korean health literacy instrument for late school-aged children

An Integrated Framework to Conceptualize and Develop the Vancouver Airways Health Literacy Tool (VAHLT)

There is currently no comprehensive tool to assess the functional health literacy (HL) skills of chronic airway disease (CAD) patients. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a new HL measure, the Vancouver Airways Health Literacy Tool (VAHLT). The tool was developed through the following phases: (1) Tool conceptualization, consisting of: (A) a systematic review (SR), (B) focus group sessions with CAD patients to understand barriers and facilitators to CAD management, (C) a survey with key-informants to obtain strategies to mitigate self-management barriers and validate patient-derived topics, and (D) respiratory physicians’ review of the topics; (2) Scenario and item development; and (3) Tool testing and content validation. The SR identified the lack of a valid HL measurement tool for CAD patients. Patients provided an initial shortlist of disease-related self-care topics. Key-informants helped to finalize topics for inclusion. Respiratory physicians and patients contributed to the development of a scenario-based questionnaire, which was refined during three rounds of testing to develop a 44-item instrument comprising nine self-management passages. We highlight the holistic process of integrating information from the literature with knowledge gained from key stakeholders into our tool framework. Our approach to stakeholder engagement may be of interest to researchers developing similar tools, and could facilitate the development and testing of HL-based interventions to ultimately improve patient outcomes and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.

Role of English Language as a Literacy Tool in Shaping the Perception of Women’s Empowerment

Over the centuries, the notion of women’s empowerment has created an immense effect on both women and men. This research aims to study the influence of the English language in shaping the concept of women’s empowerment amongst undergraduate students in a private university in Malaysia. The objectives of this study are to identify male and female undergraduates’ perception towards women’s empowerment and to investigate the correlation between the role of the English language and the undergraduates’ perceptions towards women’s empowerment. This study is based on a correlational research design that includes 570 undergraduates from 6 distinct faculties. T-test and regression analysis were done to test the correlation between the variables and their significance. The findings of this study established that there is a significant difference between male and female students’ perceptions that indicates that female and male participants have varying perceptions towards women’s empowerment. With the English language playing a significant role in shaping the perception of women’s empowerment, the female participants were self-aware of how engagement in the English language can enhance the extent of their empowerment. Projection of the findings also addressed the growing importance of literacy as a mediator in the relationship between the English language and women’s empowerment.

“Blackness is not just a single definition”: multimodal composition as an exercise for surfacing and scaffolding student theorizing in a Black Studies classroom

Purpose This study aims to investigate multimodal composition as an exercise or tool for teaching students theory building. To illustrate, an analysis of artifacts comprising a student’s multimodal composition, which was created in response to a multipart literacy assignment on theorizing Blackness, is analyzed. Design/methodology/approach Afrocentricity served as both theoretical moor and research methodology. Qualitative case study, focusing on the case of an individual student, was the research method used. Findings Multimodal composition was an effective exercise for surfacing the multidimensionality of a student’s complex knowledge while simultaneously placing the student in the powerful position of theorist. The process of composing multimodally integrated reading, writing and speaking skills while revealing the focal student’s need for targeted writing intervention. Practical implications The study evidences multimodal composition as a useful exercise for capturing students’ nuanced interpretations or students’ critical theorizing as well as meaningfully incorporating and assessing students’ literacy skills. Originality/value Exposure to preexisting theory alone relegates students to the realm of passive knowledge consumers. This undermines the emancipatory and justice-oriented objectives of critical education, which ideally contributes to social change by challenging dominant power structures and distorted perspectives of marginalized persons. To be empowered agentic learners, students need to be both taught how to theorize and engaged as theorists. This study shows how multimodal composition can be used as a liberatory literacy tool for those intertwined pedagogical purposes.

Utility of a video-based mobile app as a health literacy tool for older adults living at home - The DigiAdherence study protocol (Preprint)

BACKGROUND People aged 65 and over are more likely to have health problems related to aging, polypharmacy, and low treatment adherence. Moreover, health literacy levels decrease with increasing age. OBJECTIVE To assess an app’s utility in promoting health literacy in people aged 65 and over. METHODS A multidisciplinary team of professionals has developed a simple, intuitive, and video-based app (DigiAdherence) with recipes, nutritional counseling, physical activity, cognitive exercise, motivation to adhere to treatment, falls' prevention, and health literacy content. A total of 25 seniors attending the Personalized Health Care Unit of Portimão or the Family Health Unit of Portas do Arade (ACeS Algarve II - Barlavento, ARS Algarve, Portugal), will be recruited. Subjects must have 65 years of age or more, own a smartphone or tablet, and be willing and consent to participate. Those who do not know how to use or do not have a smartphone/tablet will be excluded. Likewise, people with major cognitive or physical impairment as well as living in a long-term care center will also not be included in this study. Participants will have access to the application for 4 weeks and will be evaluated at 3 different timepoints. Participants will be asked about the app’s utility, expectations (before access to the app), satisfaction (after access to the app), and benefits for their health. Subjects will be assessed in a clinical interview with a semi-structured questionnaire, including questions of users’ experience, satisfaction, app’s utility, quality of life, treatment adherence and lifestyles. RESULTS This study is expected to start recruiting before mid-2021. CONCLUSIONS Since the next generation of elderly is quite digitized, information and communication technologies could potentially be used as a health literacy tool to improve lifestyles among seniors.