Abstract
Health literacy (HL) refers to the ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services, and is thus needed to make appropriate health decisions. The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) is comprised of 6 questions about an ice cream nutrition label and assesses HL numeracy skills. We developed a Japanese version of the NVS (NVS-J) and evaluated the validity and reliability of the NVS-J in patients with chronic pain. The translation of the original NVS into Japanese was achieved as per the published guidelines. An observational study was subsequently performed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the NVS-J in 43 Japanese patients suffering from chronic pain. Factor analysis with promax rotation, using the Kaiser criterion (eigenvalues ≥1.0), and a scree plot revealed that the main component of the NVS-J consists of three determinative factors, and each factor consists of two NVS-J items. The criterion-related validity of the total NVS-J score was significantly correlated with the total score of Ishikawa et al.'s self-rated HL Questionnaire, the clinical global assessment of comprehensive HL level, cognitive function, and the Brinkman index. In addition, Cronbach's coefficient for the total score of the NVS-J was adequate (alpha = 0.72). This study demonstrated that the NVS-J has good validity and reliability. Further, the NVS-J consists of three determinative factors: “basic numeracy ability,” “complex numeracy ability,” and “serious-minded ability.” These three HL abilities comprise a 3-step hierarchical structure. Adequate HL should be promoted in chronic pain patients to enable coping, improve functioning, and increase activities of daily living (ADLs) and quality of life (QOL).
Highlights
Pain is defined as ‘‘an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage’’ [1]
Validity Factor analysis with promax rotation, using the Kaiser criterion, and a scree plot revealed that the main component of the Newest Vital Sign (NVS)-J consists of three determinative factors that constitute 100% of the variance (Table 4)
The first of these determinative factors consisted of the first and second questions, and was termed ‘‘basic numeracy ability,’’ which referred to the capacity of participants to perform a simple calculation
Summary
Pain is defined as ‘‘an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage’’ [1]. Numerous studies support the usefulness of cognitive behavioral therapy and other psychological approaches to chronic pain management, in addition to those that support a pharmacotherapeutic approach [4,5]. These psychological approaches yield similar outcomes, and commonly focus on educating patients with chronic pain to build coping skills and improve functioning. Concerns regarding opioid abuse, addiction, adverse outcomes (e.g., respiratory depression and/or deep sedation from overdosing, and withdrawal symptoms from unintended discontinuation), and tolerance have been increasing To address such concerns, chronic pain patients need to have adequate numeracy skills to ensure that they consume the right amounts of opioids. It is highly important that their physicians teach them how to count and take the correct number of pills dutifully
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