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Using the "Newest Vital Sign" to assess health literacy in children

Martha Driessnack, Sophia Chung, Elena Perkhounkova

    Journal of Pediatric Health Care : Official Publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners
    |August 6, 2013
    PubMed

    Insights

    The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) tool effectively screens for adequate health literacy in children and parents. A low number of children's books at home was linked to inadequate health literacy.

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatrics
    • Health Literacy Assessment
    • Family Health

    Background:

    • Assessing health literacy in children is crucial for effective healthcare.
    • The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) is a potential tool for this assessment.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To evaluate the feasibility, utility, and validity of the NVS for assessing pediatric health literacy.
    • To explore the relationship between health literacy and home literacy environment.

    Main Methods:

    • 47 parent-child dyads participated.
    • Both parents and children completed the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) tool.
    • A single-item screening question about the number of children's books in the home was administered.

    Main Results:

    • 72% of dyads demonstrated adequate health literacy (NVS score ≥4).
    • No significant difference in NVS scores was observed between children and parents.
    • A moderate positive correlation (rs = .35, p = .017) existed between children's and parents' NVS scores.
    • Low book count (<10) was associated with inadequate health literacy in both children and parents.

    Conclusions:

    • The NVS is a practical tool for identifying households with adequate health literacy.
    • The number of children's books serves as a valuable complementary indicator of health literacy.
    Abstract

    Keywords:
    Newest vital signchildrenhealth literacy

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