Should Health Numeracy Be Assessed Objectively or Subjectively?

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Because current evidence suggests that numeracy affects how people make decisions, it is an important factor to account for in studies assessing the effectiveness of medical decision support interventions. Subjective and objective numeracy assessment methods are available that vary in theoretical background, skills assessed, known relationship with decision making skills, and ease of implementation. The best way to use these tools to assess numeracy when conducting medical decision-making research is currently unknown.

Methods

We conducted Internet surveys comparing numeracy assessments obtained using the subjective numeracy scale (SNS) and 5 objective numeracy scales. Each study participant completed the SNS and 1 objective numeracy measure. Following each asse

SUBMITTER: Dolan JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4636483 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature