Journal of health communication
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Comparative Study
Comparing Well-Tested Health Literacy Measures for Oral Health: A Pilot Assessment.
There has been growing national concern over the low health literacy of Americans and, coinciding with this, a growing importance placed on measuring health literacy. Health literacy is the ability to access, understand, and use information to make health decisions. ⋯ Using a survey of dental patients from safety net dental clinics in two states, we explored differences and similarities between health literacy measures as they pertained to oral health perceptions and oral self-efficacy. Findings indicated that the three health literacy measures were not interchangeable and had differential effects on data collected, which suggested differential relationships with oral health perceptions and outcomes.