Development and validation of health insurance literacy assessment tool in Iran (HILM-IR)

Abstract

Objective(s): The purpose of this study was to develop and validate health insurance literacy assessment tool in Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with the aim of standardizing the Iranian tool for measuring health insurance literacy. The items of the tool were extracted from a qualitative study based on Paez et al. model. A total of 219 patients of a general medical center in southwest of Iran were randomly selected to participate in the study. Content validity was assessed estimating CVR and CVI and face validity was performed by a panel of experts. Structural validity was evaluated using the exploratory factor analysis. To measure reliability, we used Cronbach's alpha. Results: The findings of the study showed a 7-factor solution accounting for 66% of variance observed. Also a high internal consistency between the items was estimated (Cronbach's alpha=0.85) . All study constructs showed a positive and significant correlation with the main variable. Conclusion: The Iranian tool for measuring health insurance literacy as a valid and reliable tool can be used in Iran. This tool can be used in assessing the needs of interventions to empower the insured regarding how to apply insurance coverage in the health market.

Keywords

• health insurance literacy
• validation
• measurement
• factor analysis