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Evaluation of a Word Recognition Instrument to Test Health Literacy in Dentistry: The REALD‐99
Author(s) -
Richman Julia A.,
Lee Jessica Y.,
Rozier R. Gary,
Gong Debra A.,
Pahel Bhavna T.,
Vann William F.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of public health dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1752-7325
pISSN - 0022-4006
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-7325.2007.00022.x
Subject(s) - cronbach's alpha , realm , health literacy , literacy , test (biology) , medicine , reliability (semiconductor) , dentistry , psychology , clinical psychology , psychometrics , health care , pedagogy , paleontology , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , political science , law , economics , biology , economic growth
Objective: This study aims to evaluate a dental health literacy word recognition instrument. Methods: Based on a reading recognition test used in medicine, the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), we developed the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (REALD‐99). Parents of pediatric dental patients were recruited from local dental clinics and asked to read aloud words in both REALM and REALD‐99. REALD‐99 scores had a possible range of 0 (low literacy) to 99 (high literacy); REALM scores ranged from 0 to 66. Outcome measures included parents’ perceived oral health for themselves and of their children, and oral health‐related quality of life of the parent as measured by the short‐form Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‐14). To determine the validity, we tested bivariate correlations between REALM and REALD‐99, REALM and perceived dental outcomes, and REALD‐99 and perceived dental outcomes. We used ordinary least squares regression and logit models to further examine the relationship between REALD‐99 and dental outcomes. We determined internal reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. Results: One hundred two parents of children were interviewed. The average REALD‐99 and REALM‐66 scores were high (84 and 62, respectively). REALD‐99 was positively correlated with REALM (PCC=0.80). REALM was not related to dental outcomes. REALD‐99 was associated with parents’ OHIP‐14 score in multivariate analysis. REALD‐99 had good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=0.86). Conclusions: REALD‐99 has promise for measuring dental health literacy because it demonstrated good reliability and is quick and easy to administer. Additional studies are needed to examine the validity of REALD‐99 using objective clinical oral health measures and more proximal outcomes such as behavior and compliance to specific health instructions.