Development and Validation of the Media Health Literacy Scale: Assessment Tool Development Study

Area of Science:

• Health Communication
• Health Literacy
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Information technology advancements have increased access to health information but also the spread of misinformation.
• Media Health Literacy (MeHlit) and eHealth literacy are crucial for navigating digital health information.
• Validated tools for assessing MeHlit, particularly in communication domains, are scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a tool for evaluating Media Health Literacy (MeHlit) in adults in South Korea.
• To create a reliable and valid scale for measuring individuals' ability to manage health information from media.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature review informed the conceptual framework and item pool generation.
• Face, content, and construct validation (EFA, CFA) were performed with 1000 adults.
• Internal consistency (Cronbach's α) and concurrent validity (vs. K-eHEALS) were assessed.

Main Results:

• The Media Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) was refined to 29 items across 3 domains and 6 subdomains.
• Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a good model fit, indicating robust construct validity.
• The MHLS demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach's α > 0.915) and strong concurrent validity (r=0.736) with K-eHEALS.

Conclusions:

• The validated MHLS effectively measures individuals' capacity to access, critically evaluate, and communicate health information via media.
• This scale can identify specific MeHlit deficiencies, enabling the development of targeted educational interventions.