Table 2 Nine scales of the HLQ and their descriptive statistics.

From: Investigating health literacy and sociodemographic factors in college students

Construct

Abbreviation

Scoring range

Mean ± Std

Feeling understood and supported by healthcare providers

HPS

1–4

3.005 ± 0.41

Having sufficient information to manage my health

HIS

1–4

2.68 ± 0.47

Actively managing my health

AMH

1–4

2.79 ± 0.44

Social support for health

SS

1–4

3.17 ± 0.51

Appraisal of health information

CA

1–4

2.82 ± 0.55

Ability to actively engage with healthcare providers

AE

1–5

3.59 ± 0.55

Navigating the healthcare system

NHS

1–5

3.42 ± 0.66

Ability to find good health information

FHI

1–5

3.49 ± 0.68

Understanding health information well enough to know what to do

UHI

1–5

3.55 ± 0.74

  1. The HLQ scales5 can be broadly categorized into two categories: those with a maximum score of 4 (HPS, HSI, AMH, SS, CA) and those with 5 (AE, NHS, FHI, UHI). HLQ doesn’t result in a single composite score but a score for each of its scales. The average scores of all nine scales were calculated from the data collected from all subjects in the study.
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