Table 2.

Examples and characteristics of commonly used tools to assess health literacy

Screening tool	Questionnaires available, metrics for completion	Summary of literacy domains evaluated	Additional notes	References
Newest Vital Sign	6 items, 3 min	Written communication	Available in English and Spanish.	35
		Medical numeracy, quantitation	Interpretation of a nutrition label.
			Tested in children as young as 10 y old.
Parental Health Literacy Activities Test (PHLAT)	20 items, 21 min	Written communication	Queries 3 domains: nutrition, growth, development; injury and safety; and medical and preventive care.	36
	PHLAT-10: 10 items, 13 min	Medical numeracy, quantitation
Rapid Estimate of Adult Learning in Medicine	66 items, 2-3 min	Oral and written communication	Subjects are graded on their ability to pronounce medical terms.	37,38
	Short Form: 7 items, 1 min	Vocabulary knowledge
	Teen Form: 66 items, 2-3 min
	Teen Short Form: 10 item, 20 s
Single Item Literacy Screener	1 item, 1 min	Written communication	Single question: “How often do you need to have someone help you when you read instructions, pamphlets, or other written material from your doctor or pharmacy?”	39
			Likert scale where 1 = Never, 5 = Always.
			Score >2 considered positive.
Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults	67 items, 20 min	Written communication	Available in English and Spanish.	40
	Short Form: 40 items, 7 min	Medical numeracy, quantitation	Asks questions about instructions for prescriptions or medical scenarios. Includes fill-in-the-blank portion identifying the most contextually appropriate word.
			Validated in children 13-17 y old.
Health Literacy Skills Instrument	Computer based	Print literacy	Publicly available and can be self-administered using a computer.	41,42
	25 items, NR	Oral literacy
	Short Form: 10 items, 10 min	Numeracy
		Internet navigation

Adapted from Morrison et al.⁴³

NR, not reported.