HLS-Q12: Health Literacy Survey Data for Finnish Adults

7,077 Finnish adults participated in a survey to validate the HLS-Q12 health literacy instrument, drawn from a nationally representative sample (n=4,003) and a regional sample from North Savo (n=3,074). The dataset was analyzed by Jing Zhou in 2026 to examine internal structure, reliability, and measurement invariance across sociodemographic groups. Results indicate high reliability (α=0.905) and support for scalar invariance across gender, education, and study samples.

Use Cases

• Validate the unidimensional factor structure of the HLS-Q12 instrument based on confirmatory factor analysis results.
• Compare health literacy levels across sociodemographic groups like gender, age, and education using the scalar invariance findings.
• Apply alignment optimization methods to assess measurement non-invariance in survey intercepts and loadings.
• Benchmark health literacy scores from a national sample against a regional cohort from North Savo.

Strengths

• Dataset includes 7,077 survey responses, providing a substantial sample size for analysis.
• High internal consistency reported with Cronbach's alpha of 0.905 and McDonald's omega of 0.896.
• Data combines a nationally representative sample (n=4,003) with a regional sample (n=3,074) for broader coverage.
• Measurement invariance was rigorously tested across gender, age, education, and study samples using multiple methods.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown for the underlying raw data, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The 753.0 KB file size suggests the provided file is a research paper (PDF), not the raw dataset.

Provenance

Source

Jing Zhou via figshare.

Collection Method

Survey data analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA), and alignment optimization.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-26 06:01:03; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Finland, with a focus on a national sample and a regional sample from North Savo.