Khan Khadija, Ruby Brendan, Goldblatt Ruth S, Schensul Jean J, Reisine Susan
University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
BMC Oral Health. 2014 Nov 18;14:135. doi: 10.1186/1472-6831-14-135.
Oral health literacy is important to oral health outcomes. Very little has been established on comparing word recognition to comprehension in oral health literacy especially in older adults. Our goal was to compare methods to measure oral health literacy in older adults by using the Rapid Estimate of Literacy in Dentistry (REALD-30) tool including word recognition and comprehension and by assessing comprehension of a brochure about dry mouth.
75 males and 75 females were recruited from the University of Connecticut Dental practice. Participants were English speakers and at least 50 years of age. They were asked to read the REALD-30 words out loud (word recognition) and then define them (comprehension). Each correctly-pronounced and defined word was scored 1 for total REALD-30 word recognition and REALD-30 comprehension scores of 0-30. Participants then read the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research brochure "Dry Mouth" and answered three questions defining dry mouth, causes and treatment. Participants also completed a survey on dental behavior.
Participants scored higher on REALD-30 word recognition with a mean of 22.98 (SD = 5.1) compared to REALD-30 comprehension with a mean of 16.1 (SD = 4.3). The mean score on the brochure comprehension was 5.1 of a possible total of 7 (SD = 1.6). Pearson correlations demonstrated significant associations among the three measures. Multivariate regression showed that females and those with higher education had significantly higher scores on REALD-30 word-recognition, and dry mouth brochure questions. Being white was significantly related to higher REALD-30 recognition and comprehension scores but not to the scores on the brochure.
This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of using the REALD-30 and a brochure to assess literacy in a University setting among older adults. Participants had higher scores on the word recognition than on comprehension agreeing with other studies that recognition does not imply understanding.
口腔健康素养对口腔健康结果很重要。在比较口腔健康素养中的单词识别与理解方面，尤其是在老年人中，目前所做的研究非常少。我们的目标是通过使用牙科快速识字评估工具（REALD - 30），包括单词识别和理解，并通过评估一份关于口干的手册的理解情况，来比较测量老年人口腔健康素养的方法。
从康涅狄格大学牙科诊所招募了75名男性和75名女性。参与者以英语为母语，年龄至少50岁。要求他们大声读出REALD - 30中的单词（单词识别），然后对其进行定义（理解）。每个正确发音和定义的单词在REALD - 30单词识别总分中得1分，REALD - 30理解分数范围为0 - 30分。参与者随后阅读美国国立牙科和颅面研究所的手册《口干》，并回答三个关于口干定义、病因和治疗的问题。参与者还完成了一份关于牙科行为的调查问卷。
与REALD - 30理解平均分为16.1（标准差 = 4.3）相比，参与者在REALD - 30单词识别上得分更高，平均分为22.98（标准差 = 5.1）。手册理解的平均得分为5.1分（满分7分，标准差 = 1.6）。皮尔逊相关性显示这三项测量之间存在显著关联。多元回归表明，女性和受教育程度较高者在REALD - 30单词识别以及口干手册问题上得分显著更高。白人身份与更高的REALD - 30识别和理解分数显著相关，但与手册得分无关。
这项初步研究证明了在大学环境中使用REALD - 30和一份手册来评估老年人识字能力的可行性。参与者在单词识别上的得分高于理解得分，这与其他研究结果一致，即识别并不意味着理解。
