Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Sep 21, 2020
Date Accepted: Jan 29, 2021
The Arabic Version of the Electronic Health Literacy Scale: Prospective Psychometric Evaluation Study in a population of Arabic speaking migrants in Sweden.
ABSTRACT
Background:
Health information is often communicated through the Internet. It is vital for the end user to have a range of digital skills as well as understand the information to promote their health. There is a valid and reliable 8-item instrument, the Electronic Health Literacy Scale (eHEALS), that evaluates these skills. Still, to our knowledge, no validity or reliability tested Arabic version exists. Thus for example, Arabic speaking migrants in Sweden cannot be included in studies measuring eHealth literacy, which does not support equal treatment in health care.
Objective:
To translate and adapt the eHEALS into Arabic and to evaluate its psychometric properties.
Methods:
Prospective psychometric evaluation study with a study-population consisting of 298 Arabic-speaking participants living in Sweden, with a mean age of 42 years, with different levels of education.
Results:
The eHEALS was rigorously translated, adapted and evaluated for content validity. Psychometric evaluation revealed that the Ar-eHEALS was acceptable and feasible. Construct validity was supported with weak and moderate correlations. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a one-factor structure. Internal consistency was high, Cronbach’s α = 0.92 for the scale and 0.90-0.92 for the items, Spearman-Browns coefficient = 0.94. Test-retest of the Ar-eHEALS was acceptable with Weighted kappa = 0.76. An evaluation of threshold values indicates that they should be dichotomized to sufficient and insufficient eHealth literacy rather than inadequate, problematic, and sufficient.
Conclusions:
Ar-eHEALS is a unidimensional scale that is valid and reliable for measuring eHealth literacy in an Arabic speaking population in Sweden.
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