Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39885586›Full record

ArticleReproductive health2025

Reproductive health literacy scale: a tool to measure the effectiveness of health literacy training.

Maha Rauf, Zahra Goliaei, Lana Machta, Jenny Chang, Heike Thiel de Bocanegra

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Reproductive health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Maha RaufDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Zahra GoliaeiPublic Health Program, College of Education and Health Science, Touro University of California, Vallejo, CA, USA.
Lana MachtaDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Jenny ChangDepartment of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Heike Thiel de BocanegraDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. hthiel@hs.uci.edu.

Funding

Reproductive Health Equity in Afghan and Syrian newcomers through digital health literacyG08LM014109 · NLM · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI THIEL DE BOCANEGRA, HEIKE · 2022 to 2024
$412k
NLM NIH HHS G08 LM014109
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRefugee women's reproductive health (RH) outcomes have been impacted by several factors, including experiencing war, lack of access to healthcare, and possible gender-based violence. After resettlement, low health literacy, financial difficulties, cultural and linguistic barriers, and unfamiliarity with the healthcare system also add to the preexisting barriers. Although several efforts have focused on health education and improving health literacy among refugee women, there has not been a validated tool to measure the effectiveness of these trainings and their possible impact. This study aims to adapt a culturally and linguistically appropriate survey that helps address this gap.

methodsWe conducted a literature review to identify the existing tools and identified possible domains and items supporting RH literacy measures. The identified items were collected and adapted as a single scale with three domains: (a) general health literacy, measured with HLS-EU-Q6, (b) digital health literacy, measured with eHEALS, and (c) reproductive health literacy, measured through a composite of the Cervical Cancer Literacy Assessment Tool (C-CLAT) and the Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet) postpartum literacy scale. After content validity and face validity of the adapted scale, it was translated into Dari, Arabic, and Pashto and was administered to participants of RH literacy training sessions.

resultsA total of 67 Dari, 53 Arabic, and 64 Pashto-speaking refugee women completed the survey. The mean scores obtained between the three language groups were similar in the domains of digital health literacy and reproductive health literacy (p > 0.05), whereas the scores for general health literacy were not (p > 0.05). The inter-item reliability score for the domains of general health literacy, digital health literacy and RH literacy across all three language groups was above α = 0.7.

conclusionThis scale addresses the need for validated tools to measure reproductive health literacy. It has the promise to provide a tool for assessing the effectiveness of health interventions on health literacy. Future applications can utilize this scale to investigate the differences in health literacy in refugee populations speaking Dari, Pashto, and Arabic.

Indexed as

Health LiteracyRefugeesReproductive HealthAdultFemaleHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansSurveys and QuestionnairesDigital health literacyHealth literacyRefugeeReproductive healthScale development

Identifiers

PMID39885586
PMCPMC11783839

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.