Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Spanish HLS-COVID-Q22 Questionnaire for Measuring Health Literacy on COVID-19 in Peru

Caipa-Ramos M.; Werner-Masters K.; Quispe-Prieto S.; Paucar-Cáceres A.; Nina-Chipana R. · Healthcare (Switzerland) (2025) · DOI: 10.3390/healthcare13151903

Resumen

Background/Objectives: The social importance of health literacy (HL) is widely under-stood, and its measurement is the subject of various studies. Due to the recent pandemic, several instruments for measuring HL about COVID-19 have been proposed in different countries, including the HLS-COVID-Q22 questionnaire. The diversity of cultures and languages necessitates the cross-cultural adaptation of this instrument. Thus, the present study translates, adapts, and validates the psychometric properties of the HLS-COVID-Q22 questionnaire to provide its cross-cultural adaptation from English to Spanish (Peru). Methods: As part of ensuring that the final questionnaire accommodates the cultural nuances and idiosyncrasies of the target language, the following activities were carried out: (a) a survey of 40 respondents; and (b) a focus group with 10 participants, followed by expert approval. In addition, the validity and reliability of the health instrument have been ascertained through a further pilot test administered to 490 people in the city of Tacna in southern Peru. Results: The resulting questionnaire helps measure HL in Peru, aiding better-informed decision-making for individual health choices. Conclusions: The presence of such a tool is advantageous in case of similar global health emergencies, when the questionnaire can be made readily available to support a promotion of strategies towards better self-care. Moreover, it encourages other Latin American stakeholders to adjust the instrument to their own cultural, language, and socio-economic contexts, thus invigorating the regional and global expansion of the HL study network.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann