Development and application of a tool to measure hearing health literacy of young people in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract

Background: A reliable and valid tool to assess hearing health literacy in Iranian young people is lacking. Aims: This study aimed to develop a tool to assess the hearing health literacy of young people in the Islamic Republic of Iran and to use the tool to determine the hearing health literacy of a sample of Iranians aged 12-25 years. Results: The final questionnaire had 22 items with scores ranging from 22 to 44. The Cronbach alpha was 0.65, and content validity ratio and index were 0.92 and 0.82, respectively. Of the 5000 questionnaires completed, 4890 were included in the analysis. The mean (standard deviation (SD)) age of the participants was 17 (SD 3) years and 45.9 were males. The mean score on the tool was 30.81 (SD 3.75), indicating inadequate health literacy (score 22-36). Only 137 (2.8) participants had adequate health literacy (score 37-44). Statistically significant differences in mean hearing health literacy were seen for sex, age, years of education, occupation, marital status and income (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Given the low level of hearing health literacy in Iranian young people, programmes to improve the ear and hearing health literacy are urgently needed.