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Measuring Health Literacy Among Immigrants with a Phonetic Primary Language: A Case of Korean American Women

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Abstract

While the need for understanding the issue of health literacy among ethnic minority groups with limited English skills is rapidly increasing in the US, it is difficult to find valid and useful health literacy tools for certain linguistic minorities. This study was designed to validate the Korean translation of Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) and Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults-Short form (S-TOFHLA). Korean REALM and S-TOFHLA were administered to 98 Korean American women, together with REALM-English. Participants were first-generation immigrants who were educated in Korea. Both Korean REALM and S-TOFHLA resulted in a negatively-skewed distribution. REALM-English yielded well-distributed groups with significant correlations with Korean REALM and S-TOFHLA (Spearman’s rho = 0.30, P = 0.003 and 0.22, P = 0.03, respectively). Educational level was significantly correlated with REALM-English and Korean S-TOFHLA (Spearman’s rho = 0.39, P = 0.000 and 0.25, P = 0.014), but not with REALM-Korean. The translation of REALM and S-TOFHLA into the Korean language did not lead to a valid assessment of health literacy. A more systematic approach is needed to assess health literacy in immigrants with limited English skills, particularly those with a phonetic primary language. Meanwhile, REALM-English could be used as a crude health literacy test for individuals with some English skills.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R01 CA129060). The authors also acknowledge editorial support provided by the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Collaborative Intervention Research. Funding for the Center is provided by the National Institute of Nursing Research P30 NRO 8995.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 525 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2110, USA

    Hae-Ra Han & Miyong T. Kim

  2. Department of Nursing, Kyungwon University, San 65, Bokjeong-dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea

    Jiyun Kim

  3. Korean Resource Center, 3201 Rogers Ave. Suite 203, Ellicott City, MD, 21203, USA

    Kim B. Kim

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  1. Hae-Ra Han
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  2. Jiyun Kim
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  3. Miyong T. Kim
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Correspondence to Hae-Ra Han.

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Han, HR., Kim, J., Kim, M.T. et al. Measuring Health Literacy Among Immigrants with a Phonetic Primary Language: A Case of Korean American Women. J Immigrant Minority Health 13, 253–259 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-010-9366-0

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