Validity and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Health Literacy Dental Scale (HeLD-14)

Background and Objective: Nowadays, oral health literacy is an important and influential component on people's general health. One of the newest indicators in this field is 14-item Health Literacy in Dentistry (HeLD-14) questionnaire but it has never been applied in Persian. The purpose of the present study was to validate the usage of HeLD-14 among Iranians. <br /> Materials and Methods: A consecutive sample (n= 400 adults) participated in this validation study. The subjects were selected by random sampling from those referring to dental clinics in Kerman .All participants self-completed the (standard forward & backward) translated HeLD-14. Construct validity was assessed by examining the correlation between HeLD-14 scores and self-reported oral health variables (referring to a dentist in the last year, oral health, perceived need to dental treatments & having removable prosthesis appliances). Reliability was calculated using Cronbach's alpha (for internal consistency) and corrected item-total correlation. Effect size (ES) and Standardized Response Mean (SRM) were calculated for the responsiveness of the scale and exploratory factor analysis was done by measuring Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO), Bartlett's sphericity test and scree plot.<br /> Results: The translated HeLD-14 had high reliability and validity. the subjects who had more dental needs based on their self-appraisal believed that they had more favorable oral health and had higher OHL level, and subjects who wore dentures had low OHL levels(P<0.05) indicated sufficient construct validity. Moreover, the confirmatory factor analysis and expletory of factor analysis was done.<br /> Conclusion: The findings of this study confirm the validity and reliability of the Persian version of HeLD-14.