The HLS₁₉-COM-P, a New Instrument for Measuring Communicative Health Literacy in Interaction with Physicians:...

Area of Science:

• Health Communication
• Patient-Physician Interaction
• Health Literacy Measurement

Background:

• Communicative health literacy (COM-HL) is crucial for patient engagement in healthcare.
• Existing instruments lack a combined focus on communication and health literacy.
• A validated tool is needed to measure COM-HL.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an instrument to measure communicative health literacy (COM-HL).
• To assess the psychometric properties of the new instrument.

Main Methods:

• The HLS₁₉-COM-P instrument was developed using a conceptual framework.
• Data collected from 18,674 participants across nine countries (Dec 2019–Jan 2021).
• Psychometric properties evaluated via Rasch analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.

Main Results:

• The 11-item (HLS₁₉-COM-P-Q11) and 6-item (HLS₁₉-COM-P-Q6) versions showed good fit to the Rasch model.
• High reliability was confirmed through Cronbach's alpha and Person separation index.
• Minimal differential item functioning (DIF) was observed across person factors and countries.

Conclusions:

• The HLS₁₉-COM-P instrument is a reliable and valid measure of COM-HL.
• The instrument demonstrated acceptance across diverse settings and data collection methods.
• It is suitable for measuring COM-HL in international contexts.