Psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Health Literacy on Social Determinants of Health Questionnaire (K-HL-SDHQ)

The association between the social determinant of health (SDH) and sustainable development goals, has directed attention toward the influence of SDH. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the instruments used to assess SDH. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the Korean Version of the Health Literacy on Social Determinants of Health Questionnaire (K-HL-SDHQ). A total of 660 workers in Korea participated in an online survey. The K-HL-SDHQ measures four dimensions (Access, Understand, Appraise, and Apply) with 33 items. The HL-SDHQ was translated into Korean using the forward-back translation method. To test the validity and reliability of the Korean translated HL-SDHQ, item analysis for the 33 items was conducted. Internal consistency was examined using Cronbach’s α, an exploratory factor analysis, and a confirmatory factor analysis. The scale-level content validity index (S-CVI)/universal agreement of this study was .12 and S-CVI/average was .83 (item-CVI range = .50–1.00). The goodness of fit determined through a confirmatory factor analysis of the four dimensions was acceptable (χ2 (489) = 1475.054, p < .001, RMSEA = .06, CFI = .87, TLI = .85). The K-HL-SDHQ also demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α = .92). The findings indicate that the K-HL-SDHQ is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess the SDH of workers in Korea. It is suggested that this tool can be applied through repeated research with workers and non-workers for health promotion, and to enhance researchers’ understanding of the different levels of the HL-SDHQ.