Health Literacy Assessment of University Employees Using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) Tool

The purpose of this DNP quality improvement project was to assess health literacy in a sample of university employees using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) tool and to evaluate the feasibility of using this tool in clinical practice. An observational, cross-sectional design was used with a convenience sample of 120 university employees visiting an outpatient clinic for onboarding, medical surveillance, or non-urgent care. Health literacy was measured using the NVS, a valid and reliable screening tool that assesses literacy by having individuals interpret a nutrition label. Socio-demographic data were collected and time for NVS administration was measured. On average, university employees were well-educated (M = 16.6, SD = 2.6 years formal education). The majority of participants (83%) had NVS Scores indicating likely adequate health literacy; however, 17% had scores indicating limited or possibly limited health literacy. Non-English native language (p ≤ 0.01), longer time to complete the NVS (p ≤ 0.001), and older age (p ≤ 0.001) were correlated with lower NVS scores. Moreover, non-native English-speaking participants took longer to complete the NVS (M = 2.4, SD = 1.3 minutes) compared to native English-speaking participants (M = 1.9, SD = 0.5 minutes, p ≤ 0.01). The collective findings suggest that varied selected populations in the workforce can benefit from enhanced health literacy to help them navigate, understand, and use health information/services to improve their health. Implementing “Health Literacy Universal Precautions” to become a “Health Literate Care Organization” is recommended.