Should Health Numeracy Be Assessed Objectively or Subjectively?

Conclusions. These findings are consistent with prior research suggesting that objective and subjective numeracy scales measure related but distinct constructs. Due to current uncertainty regarding which construct is more likely to influence the effectiveness of decision support interventions, these findings warrant further investigation to determine the proper use of objective versus subjective numeracy assessments in medical decision-making research. Pending additional information, a reasonable approach is to measure both objective and subjective numeracy so that the full range of actual and perceived numeracy skills can be taken into account.

Source: Medical Decision Making - August 30, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Dolan, J. G., Cherkasky, O. A., Li, Q., Chin, N., Veazie, P. J. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research