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Table 2 Factor structure of the 14-item health literacy scale (HLS-14)

From: The 14-item health literacy scale for Japanese adults (HLS-14)

  

Mean

SD

Factor loadings

Communality

Factor 1

Factor 2

Factor 3

Functional health literacy

 Q1

Find characters that I cannot read

3.8

0.9

0.06

0.69

−0.02

0.49

 Q2

Feel that the print is too small for me to read

3.7

1.0

−0.05

0.72

0.05

0.51

 Q3

Feel that the content is too difficult for me to understand

3.5

1.0

−0.02

0.87

−0.01

0.76

 Q4

Feel that it takes a long time to read them

3.6

1.0

−0.04

0.78

−0.01

0.61

 Q5

Need someone to help me read them

4.5

0.8

0.07

0.47

−0.02

0.23

Communicative health literacy

 Q6

Collect information from various sources

3.9

1.0

0.72

−0.05

0.07

0.57

 Q7

Extract the information I want

3.6

0.9

0.80

−0.02

0.01

0.65

 Q8

Understand the obtained information

3.5

0.8

0.83

0.09

−0.14

0.61

 Q9

Communicate my opinion about my illness

3.4

0.9

0.62

−0.02

0.00

0.38

 Q10

Apply the obtained information to my daily life

3.4

0.9

0.65

0.02

0.06

0.47

Critical health literacy

 Q11

Consider whether the information is applicable to me

3.8

0.8

0.45

0.00

0.28

0.41

 Q12

Consider whether the information is credible

2.9

0.8

−0.08

−0.08

0.58

0.31

 Q13

Check whether the information is valid and reliable

3.4

0.9

0.09

0.03

0.81

0.75

 Q14

Collect information to make my healthcare decisions

3.2

1.0

0.14

0.05

0.67

0.57

  1. Underlined values indicate the greatest factor loadings
  2. SD standard deviation