Medication literacy in Spanish and English: Psychometric evaluation of a new assessment tool

Objective To evaluate the psychometric properties of a newly developed Medication Literacy Assessment in Spanish and English (MedLitR x SE). Design Descriptive, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study. Setting El Paso, TX, from December 2006 to June 2009. Participants 181 English- or Spanish speaking adults. Intervention Survey administered in two phases. Main outcome measures Descriptive statistics, internal consistency, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and fit indices, and criterion-related validity. Results The 20-item MedLitR x SE tool showed adequate internal consistency and reliability, and CFA revealed overall good model fit. In phase 2, the shorter 14-item MedLitR x SE showed good total test reliability and correlated well with the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. Item response theory analyses showed no language bias and a one-dimensional (i.e., one factor) model of medication literacy. Conclusion The initial and latest shorter version of the MedLitR x SE tool demonstrated good psychometric properties. This tool may provide a new option to assess "medication literacy" in English and Spanish.