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Measuring Nutrition Literacy in Spanish-Speaking Latinos: An Exploratory Validation Study

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Abstract

Nutrition is important for preventing and treating chronic diseases highly prevalent among Latinos, yet no tool exists for measuring nutrition literacy among Spanish speakers. This study aimed to adapt the validated Nutrition Literacy Assessment Instrument for Spanish-speaking Latinos. This study was developed in two phases: adaptation and validity testing. Adaptation included translation, expert item content review, and interviews with Spanish speakers. For validity testing, 51 participants completed the Short Assessment of Health Literacy-Spanish (SAHL-S), the Nutrition Literacy Assessment Instrument in Spanish (NLit-S), and socio-demographic questionnaire. Validity and reliability statistics were analyzed. Content validity was confirmed with a Scale Content Validity Index of 0.96. Validity testing demonstrated NLit-S scores were strongly correlated with SAHL-S scores (r = 0.52, p < 0.001). Entire reliability was substantial at 0.994 (CI 0.992–0.996) and internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s α = 0.92). The NLit-S demonstrates validity and reliability for measuring nutrition literacy among Spanish-speakers.

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Data availability

The datasets analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The research reported in this publication was supported in part by the the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Award Number R03HD081730 (PI, Heather Gibbs), the National Institute of Nursing Research Award Number R03NR013236 (PI, Byron Gajewski), by a CTSA grant from NCATS awarded to the University of Kansas Medical Center for Frontiers: The Heartland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research # UL1TR000001, and CNPq—Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Doctorate scholarship, Juliana Camargo). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We also want to acknowledge the bilingual research assistant Mitzi Ramirez, BS who was crucial in the translation and recruitment process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dietetics & Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, Mail Stop 4013, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA

    Heather D. Gibbs, Juliana M. T. B. Camargo & Sarah Owens

  2. Department of Biostatistics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA

    Byron Gajewski

  3. John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack Meridian Health, Hackensack, NJ, USA

    Ana Paula Cupertino

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  1. Heather D. Gibbs
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  2. Juliana M. T. B. Camargo
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  3. Sarah Owens
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  4. Byron Gajewski
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  5. Ana Paula Cupertino
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Correspondence to Heather D. Gibbs.

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Gibbs, H.D., Camargo, J.M.T.B., Owens, S. et al. Measuring Nutrition Literacy in Spanish-Speaking Latinos: An Exploratory Validation Study. J Immigrant Minority Health 20, 1508–1515 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-017-0678-1

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