Developing a Health Literacy Scale for adults in Hong Kong: A modified e-Delphi study with healthcare consumers and providers

Development and validation of the Chinese patient-centered integrated care scale

BACKGROUND

The healthcare system is currently facing challenges in transitioning to a more integrated, patient-centered care. China has implemented various practical exploration and pilot programs in developing an integrated healthcare service system. However, there remains an absence of appropriate instrument to assess integrated care from the patient's perspective, particularly one that aligns with China's national conditions.

METHODS

Using a literature review, Delphi methods, a pilot study involving 171 chronic patients in Guangdong Province, and the analytic hierarchy process, we developed and validated the Chinese Patient-Centered Integrated Care (CPCIC) with a weighting system.

RESULTS

The results of exploratory factor analysis indicated CPCIC scale had robust structural validity. The overall Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.868, signifying excellent internal consistency. The final scale included four first-level indicators (dimensions): services responsiveness, services convenience, services continuity and services coordination and 14 s-level indicators (items). The assigned weights of these dimensions were 0.1070, 0.2926, 0.4155 and 0.1849, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The four-dimension, 14-item CPCIC scale with a weighting system was successfully developed and validated. The scale provides a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating the degree of integrated care from the patient's perspective, and has potential applications in informing the reform of China's healthcare system to enhance patient-centered care.

Understanding and Defining Young People's Involvement and Under-Representation in Mental Health Research: A Delphi Study

INTRODUCTION

The mental health of young people (aged 16-25 years) is a growing public health concern in the United Kingdom due to the increasing numbers of young people experiencing mental health difficulties, with many not in contact with mental health services. To design services that meet the needs of all young people, a diversity of young people must be involved in mental health research, beyond being participants. This Delphi study aimed to identify different types of 'involvement' and to define and describe 'under-representation' in young people's involvement in mental health research.

METHODS

Twenty-seven experts in young people's mental health research completed a series of online questionnaires. The experts were academic researchers, patient and public involvement (PPI) professionals and young 'experts by experience'. Round 1 generated panellists' views on 'involvement' and 'under-representation'. Round 2 summarised panellists' responses from Round 1 and sought consensus (minimum 70% agreement) in nine question areas. Round 3 validated the findings of the previous rounds.

RESULTS

Consensus was achieved in eight out of nine areas, resulting in a matrix (with definitions) of the different types of young people's involvement in mental health research, from being advisors to involvement ambassadors. The findings generated an agreed-upon definition of under-representation, an identification of when in the research process there is under-representation and the characteristics of the young people who are under-represented. Experts further agreed on demographic data that should be collected to improve reporting on involvement.

CONCLUSIONS

This study adds to our understanding of involvement and under-representation in the context of young people's mental health research through expert consensus. It provides a practical resource for researchers considering involving young people in the research process and suggests the data that should be collected to improve reporting on the diversity of the young people involved.

PATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

A research oversight group of five young people advised on this study. They contributed throughout the project-from endorsing the research question to commenting on the findings and dissemination. Two of the group reviewed all participant materials and piloted the initial questionnaire.

Associations between Health Literacy, Trust, and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: The Case of Hong Kong

This study investigates how health literacy (HL) and trust in health information affected COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Chinese Hong Kong adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted in August 2022. A total of 401 participants completed the study. Participants completed a newly developed Hong Kong HL scale and self-reported their trust levels in health information from different resources. The proportions of early uptake of the first dose and booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine were 69.1% and 71.8%, respectively. The risk of delaying the first dose was higher among participants with inadequate functional HL (OR = 0.58, p = 0.015), adequate levels of two subdomains of critical HL (OR = 1.82, p = 0.013; OR = 1.91, p < 0.01), and low-level trust in health information from the government (OR = 0.57, p = 0.019). Respondents with adequate interactive HL (OR = 0.52, p = 0.014) and inadequate level of one subdomain of critical HL (OR =1.71, p = 0.039) were more likely to delay the booster dose. This negative association between critical HL and vaccination was suppressed by trust in health information from the government. This study shows that HL and trust in health information from the government are associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Efforts should be directed at providing tailored communication strategies with regard to people’s HL and increasing public confidence in health authorities to decrease vaccine hesitancy.

Development and validation of a comprehensive health literacy tool for adults in Hong Kong

Introduction

Health literacy (HL) refers to an individual's ability to process and use health information to make health-related decisions. However, previous HL scales did not fully cover all aspects of this concept. This study aimed to develop a comprehensive Hong Kong HL scale (HLS-HK) and evaluate its psychometric properties among Chinese adults.

Methods

A scale of 31-item covering Nutbeam's framework, namely functional and interactive HL (FHL and IHL), and critical HL (CHL) within three subdomains: critical appraisal of information, understanding of social determinants of health, and actions to address social determinants of health, was developed based on previous literature review and Delphi survey. Cognitive interviews were performed to examine all items' face validity in terms of three aspects: comprehensiveness, clarity, and acceptability. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the scale's psychometric properties, including its internal consistency reliability, factorial structure validity, convergent validity, and predictive validity.

Results

Nine interviewees participated in the cognitive interviews in October 2021. Based on the input from respondents, two items were deleted, two items were combined, and several items' wording was revised. The other items were clear and readable. Finally, 28 items remained. A total of 433 adults completed the questionnaire survey between December 2021 and February 2022. After excluding one item with low inter-item correlations, the scale's internal consistency reliability was acceptable, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.89. Exploratory factor analysis produced a five-factor model, as shown in the original theoretical framework. These factors accounted for 53% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the fit indices for this model were acceptable (comparative fit index = 0.91, root mean square error of approximation = 0.06, and root mean square residual = 0.06). The scale is also significantly correlated with theoretically selected variables, including education and self-rated health.

Conclusion

The HLS-HK is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating HL. Compared with existing tools, this scale extended the operationalization of FHL, IHL, and CHL and fully operationalized the CHL via three subdomains. It can be used to understand the difficulties and barriers that people may encounter when they use health-related information and services.