Health numeracy in Japan: measures of basic numeracy account for framing bias in a highly numerate population.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Health numeracy is an important factor in how well people make decisions based on medical risk information. However, in many countries, including Japan, numeracy studies have been limited.

Methods

To fill this gap, we evaluated health numeracy levels in a sample of Japanese adults by translating two well-known scales that objectively measure basic understanding of math and probability: the 3-item numeracy scale developed by Schwartz and colleagues (the Schwartz scale) and its expanded version, the 11-item numeracy scale developed by Lipkus and colleagues (the Lipkus scale).

Results

Participants' performances (n = 300) on the scales were much higher than in original studies conducted in the United States (80% average item-wise correct response rate for Schwa

SUBMITTER: Okamoto M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3511058 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature