UB social work researchers adapt health literacy scale for Karen refugees

Congratulations to four University at Buffalo School of Social Work researchers who published their study, “Adaptation of the All Aspects of Health Literacy Scale (AAHLS) for Karen Refugees: Factor Analysis,” in Social Work in Health Care this spring.

Associate Professor Wooksoo Kim, PhD, led the project with Jangmin Kim, PhD, assistant professor; Krisztina Baltimore, MSW ’18, PhD candidate; and Isok Kim, PhD, associate professor.

The authors are all part of the School of Social Work's Immigrant and Refugee Research Center. Wooksoo Kim serves as director, while her co-authors are affiliate researchers.

Health literacy has been identified as a significant predictor of health care utilization among refugee and immigrant communities. Considering its potential impact on their health outcomes, accurately measuring levels of health literacy among limited English proficiency (LEP) populations is an important area of investigation.

This study examined the psychometric properties of a modified version of the All Aspects of Health Literacy Scale (AAHLS), based on Nutbeam's model of health literacy, using an exploratory factor (EFA) and confirmatory factor (CFA) analysis among a sample of Karen refugees, an ethnic minority group from Burma. Results of the EFA confirmed a 3-factor model in our sample. CFA results indicated good model fits, demonstrating a promising use of the AAHLS in assessing health literacy among Karen refugees.

The findings of this study support the validity of using this measure among this population and suggest some necessary adjustments to incorporate factors unique to the refugee experience that may affect the interpretation and application of items in the AAHLS. Further replication using other LEP samples is necessary to confirm the psychometric properties of the AAHLS and its ability to assess health literacy using Nutbeam's theoretical model of health literacy.