Understanding Health Literacy Measurement Through Eye Tracking

Abstract

This study used eye-tracking technology to explore how individuals with different levels of health literacy visualize health-related information. The authors recruited 25 university administrative staff (more likely to have adequate health literacy skills) and 25 adults enrolled in an adult literacy program (more likely to have limited health literacy skills). The authors administered the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) health literacy assessment to each participant. The assessment involves having individuals answer questions about a nutrition label while viewing the label. The authors used computerized eye-tracking technology to measure the amount of time each participant spent fixing their view at nutrition label information that was relevant to the questions being asked and the amount of time they spent viewing nonrelevant information. Results showed that lower NVS scores were significantly associated with more time spent on information not relevant for answering the NVS items. This finding suggests that efforts to improve health literacy measurement should include the ability to differentiate not just between individuals who have difficulty interpreting and using health information, but also between those who have difficulty finding relevant information. In addition, this finding suggests that health education material should minimize the inclusion of nonrelevant information.

Health literacy, literacy, numeracy and nutrition label understanding and use: a scoping review of the literature

“…An inverse relationship between health literacy and nutrition label use was observed in one Singaporean study . In one American study, health literacy was significantly associated with the use of some information on the nutrition label, but not other information . No relationships were observed between health literacy and nutrition label use in two American studies .…”

Sharing Health Information and Influencing Behavioral Intentions: The Role of Health Literacy, Information Overload, and the Internet in the Diffusion of Healthy Heart Information

“…It is possible that the lack of a significant path from health literacy to healthy heart knowledge is a methodological artifact. Other scholars have noted that the varied approaches to measuring health literacy may influence research conclusions (Mackert, Champlin, Pasch, & Weiss, 2013). Fourth, our sample was recruited from a single community health clinic and was primarily female, which may limit generalizability.…”

Assessing Health Literacy in Deaf American Sign Language Users

“…This provides a unique opportunity to determine optimal visual-based information sources to address health literacy gaps for predominately visual learners. For example, low health literacy individuals struggle in locating relevant health information and may have longer fixation duration on irrelevant aspects of displayed online information (Mackert, Champlin, Pasch, & Weiss, 2013). Such a phenomenon could also be particularly important for nearly 20% of Americans who struggle with hearing loss (Agrawal, Platz, & Niparko, 2008; Lin, Niparko, & Ferrucci, 2011; Ries, 1994) and who may be more dependent on visual mechanisms for communication and information access.…”