Self-Administered Assessment of Health Literacy in Adolescents Using the Newest Vital Sign

The “Newest Vital Sign” (NVS) is a validated health literacy assessment tool typically administered by clinicians. The objective of this study was to assess if the NVS could be self-administered in adolescents to measure health literacy. Sixth graders in a Colorado middle school were provided a self-administered survey containing the NVS, a section for parent permission, and a section for the student’s age, gender, grade, and previous elementary school. In all, 167 sixth graders returned usable surveys (45% return rate), and the average health literacy score was 3.75 ± 1.70. Almost two thirds (62.9%) of the students scored in the adequate health literacy range, while only 12.6% scored in the limited health literacy range. Health literacy scores were similar when evaluated based on gender. However, when students were grouped based on prior elementary school attendance, students who matriculated from one elementary school had an average NVS score significantly lower than two other elementary schools (p < .001 and p < .05). Self-administration of the NVS was successful and showed similar health literacy scores compared to other studies in adolescents. Using the NVS as a self-administered tool could greatly increase its function as a quick health literacy assessment for adolescents, both in clinical practice and in school-based health education.