Testing a single item screener to support family doctors in identifying patients with limited health literacy: convergent validity of the SILS and the HLS-EU-Q16

Table 2 Sample characteristics

Characteristics	n		%
Sex^a
Female	172		58.7
Male	114		38.9
Age^b
≤ 60 years	148		50.5
> 60 years	133		45.4
Employment status^c
Not working	135		46.1
Working	148		50.5
Education level^d,*
Low	113		38.6
Moderate	77		26.3
High	96		32.8
Migration background^e
No	213		72.7
Yes	69		23.5
Number of chronic diseases^f
None	15		5.1
1	85		29.0
2	83		28.3
3 or more	109		37.2
Type of chronic disease^f
Cardiovascular disease	152		51.9
Back pain	132		45.1
Depression or other mental health disorders Mental disorders	79		27.0
Diabetes	71		24.2
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	48		16.4
Rheumatism	32		10.9
Cancer	28		9.6
Stroke	12		4.1
Chronic kidney disease	6		2.0
Other	94		32.1
HLS-EU-Q16**
Inadequate HL	42		14.3
Problematic HL	96		32.8
Adequate HL	155		52.9
	Mean	SD	Min	Max
SILS	4.2	1.0	1	5
HLS-EU-Q16 Score* (Cronbachs α = 0.92)	12.2	3.3	1	16

*Education level was defined as low = at most primary school, moderate = secondary school, high = university (of applied sciences) entrance qualification; **the overall HLS-EU-Q16 score was computed as the simple sum score of the 16 binary items; Missing data (n): ^a7, ^b12, ^c10, ^d7, ^e11, ^f1

ISSN: 2731-4553