Scholarlink

Introduction <p>The Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents (HELMA) is a multidimensional tool used to measure health literacy in adolescents. Previous studies on adolescent health literacy were primarily hospital-based, and the instruments used did not encompass all domains of health literacy. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to validate the HELMA questionnaire in secondary schools located in a rural and an urban local government area (LGA) of Osun State, Nigeria.</p> Methods <p>The Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents (HELMA) tool was validated among 430 adolescents selected using a four-stage sampling technique from Junior and Senior Secondary Schools located in rural and urban local government areas (LGA) of Osun State, Nigeria. Psychometric properties of the tool were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and inter-item correlation.</p> Results <p>The adolescents were 13.5 ± 2.4 years old, and 50.7% were female. The Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents showed moderate to good psychometric properties. CFA showed good fit indices for an eight-factor model. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ranged from 0.73 to 0.89 for the various constructs. The intra-rater consistency, assessed by the intra-class correlation coefficient, was 0.93 (0.65–0.89), indicating good test-retest reliability. This study provides support for the use of the HELMA as a valid and reliable instrument to measure health literacy in adolescents in Nigeria.</p> Conclusion <p>The Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents (HELMA) is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the health literacy of adolescents aged 10–19 and can evaluate different levels of functional, interactive, and critical health literacy.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Measuring adolescent health literacy in Nigeria: psychometric validation of the health literacy assessment scale for adolescents

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月2日

查看全文
  • Funmito Omolola Fehintola,
  • Olorunfemi Akinbode Ogundele,
  • Adesola Olumide,
  • Adesegun Fatusi,
  • Olayemi Omotade

摘要

Introduction

The Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents (HELMA) is a multidimensional tool used to measure health literacy in adolescents. Previous studies on adolescent health literacy were primarily hospital-based, and the instruments used did not encompass all domains of health literacy. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to validate the HELMA questionnaire in secondary schools located in a rural and an urban local government area (LGA) of Osun State, Nigeria.

Methods

The Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents (HELMA) tool was validated among 430 adolescents selected using a four-stage sampling technique from Junior and Senior Secondary Schools located in rural and urban local government areas (LGA) of Osun State, Nigeria. Psychometric properties of the tool were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and inter-item correlation.

Results

The adolescents were 13.5 ± 2.4 years old, and 50.7% were female. The Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents showed moderate to good psychometric properties. CFA showed good fit indices for an eight-factor model. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient ranged from 0.73 to 0.89 for the various constructs. The intra-rater consistency, assessed by the intra-class correlation coefficient, was 0.93 (0.65–0.89), indicating good test-retest reliability. This study provides support for the use of the HELMA as a valid and reliable instrument to measure health literacy in adolescents in Nigeria.

Conclusion

The Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents (HELMA) is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the health literacy of adolescents aged 10–19 and can evaluate different levels of functional, interactive, and critical health literacy.