Brief screening items to identify spanish-speaking adults with limited health literacy and numeracy skills

BACKGROUND: Limited health literacy (HL) and numeracy have been shown to be associated with a wide array of poor health-related outcomes, knowledge, and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of brief HL and numeracy screening items in identifying Spanish-speaking adults’ HL and numeracy skills. METHODS: We studied convenience samples of native Spanish-speaking adults in Columbus, Ohio. A trained research assistant administered sociodemographic items, HL and numeracy screening items, Short Assessment of Health Literacy (SAHL), and Newest Vital Sign (NVS) to participants in Spanish. RESULTS: Participants (n = 151) averaged 36.8 ± 11.0 years of age and 54.7 % were female. Average SAHL score was 15.7 ± 2.8 (range = 4 to 18), while the average NVS score was 1.7 ± 1.5 (range = 0 to 6). “How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?” performed best in detecting limited NVS scores (AUROC = 0.66; 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.57–0.75), limited/marginal NVS scores (AUROC = 0.75; 95 % CI = 0.65–0.84), and inadequate SAHL scores (AUROC = 0.69; 95 % CI = 0.58–0.79). CONCLUSION: A single HL screening item is useful for quickly estimating HL and numeracy skills in native Spanish-speaking adults.