Health Literacy

The Newest Vital Sign. The test takes three minutes to administer. Patients are asked to look at a nutrition label from an ice cream container. They are asked 6 questions that relate to the label. Patients can, and should, reference the label when asked each question. Based on the number of correct answers, patients literacy level can be assessed.

Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine. This tool asks patients to pronounce 66 words ranging from “fat” to “impetigo." The test provides grade level scores for people who read below a ninth grade level. It might be better suited for research.

This is a shorter version of the REALM test. It is a 7-item word recognition test to provide clinicians with a valid quick assessment of patient health literacy. The REALM-SF has been validated and field tested in diverse research setting, and has excellent agreement with the 66-item REALM instrument in terms of grade-level assignments

Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. It involves a series of health-related reading tasks that measure numeracy and reading comprehension. Patients are asked to read passages in which every 5th to 7th word has been deleted and to insert the correct word from a choice of four words.