Validation of the health literacy scale in patients with hypertension in Mexico

Background: Health literacy integrates skills around health care. The measurement of health literacy is relevant for proposing improvement interventions. The European HLS-EU-Q16 scale allows to comprehensively evaluate health literacy, but its psy- chometric properties have not been assessed in Mexico.Objective: To validate the HLS-EU-Q16 scale in patients with hyper- tension in Mexico.Material and methods: A validation study of a measuring instrument was carried out. The construct was evaluated by means of factor analysis; internal consistency, using Cronbach's alpha; and test-retest reliability, using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The information was collected by interviewing 349 patients with hypertension in a family medicine unit of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, from April to June 2022.Results: In 23.8% of the patients, health literacy was inadequate; in 44.4%, problematic; and in 31.8%, sufficient. The scale was found to retain 12 items and two factors (HLS-EU- Q12M). Cronbach's alpha was 0.83, and ICC was 0.94.Conclusion: The HLS-EU-Q12M scale in Mexican Spanish is a valid instrument for assessing health literacy in adults with hypertension.