The Brazilian validation of a health literacy instrument: the newest vital sign

• Published in: Acta odontologica Scandinavica Vol. 76; no. 8; p. 587
• Main Authors: Pereira Cruvinel, Agnes Fátima, Cusicanqui Méndez, Daniela Alejandra, Campos Chaves, Giuliana, Gutierres, Eliézer, Lotto, Matheus, Marchini Oliveira, Thaís, Cruvinel, Thiago
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 17.11.2018
• Subjects: Adult; Brazil; Dental Health Surveys - standards; Female; Health Literacy - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Oral Health - statistics & numerical data; Psychometrics; Reproducibility of Results; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Brazil; surveys and questionnaires; Health literacy; oral health
• ISSN: 1502-3850
• DOI: 10.1080/00016357.2018.1484511

This study aimed to perform the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the NVS for Brazilian Portuguese. Two hundred and fifty adults responded to the adapted version of the NVS, the Brazilian version of the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (BREALD-30), ten questions of the National Functional Literacy Index (NFLI), and a questionnaire about demographic and oral health-related aspects. Statistical analysis determined the internal consistency, stability, difficulty of items, and convergent/discriminant/predictive validities of the NVS. p < .05 was considered significant. The NVS displayed a good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79) and a fair stability (ICC = 0.57; 0.39-0.70 95% CI). Seventy-two percent of participants answered the easier question (#5) correctly, whereas only 28.4% were successful in responding the most difficult question (#1). The convergent validity of the NVS was demonstrated by its significant correlation with the BREALD-30 (Rs = 0.601, p < .001) and NFLI (Rs = 0.544, p < .001). The observation of higher NVS scores among health professionals, white and more educated people confirmed the discriminant validity of the instrument. Moreover, health literacy was a significant predictor of self-reported oral health and reason for dental utilization. The NVS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties to be applied in Brazilian oral health epidemiological surveys.