Effect of Low Medical Literacy on Health Survey Measurements

Abstract

Paper self-administered questionnaires (SAQs) are a standard interviewing technique for surveys of sensitive topics. Although SAQs afford respondents greater privacy than face-to-face interviews, they have several limitations. First, they require literate respondents. Second, they require forms literacy—the ability to select consistent responses, implement general survey instructions, and correctly follow branching or skip instructions. Survey respondents may have difficulty following skip instructions if they are not forms literate. This brief report examines the relationship between assessed levels of medical literacy, respondent characteristics, and the quality of measurements made in the 1997/98 Baltimore Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) and Behavior Survey.