Background:

Health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals obtain, process and understand basic health information and services. It is necessary to make appropriate decisions about their health. Evidence has shown that the level of health literacy is critical to the prognosis of chronic diseases. The Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Spanish-speaking Adults (SAHLSA-50) is a short and simple health literacy adult assessment.

Aim:

To determine the validity and reliability indicators of SAHLSA-50 in Chilean adults.

Material and Methods:

The survey was applied to 84 older adults living in high and low income neighborhoods.

Results:

The survey had an adequate construct validity and reliability, its Comparative Fit Index was 0.93, its Tucker-Lewis index was 0.927 and its Root Mean Square Error of Approximation was 0.044. “Close fit” was not statistically significant (p = 0.828). Reliability was estimated by K-Richardson, which reported a good outcome (0.9255). Despite the good global indicators obtained, it is necessary to pay attention to some items that would fail to explain the “Health literacy” construct or were beyond the parameters of difficulty and discrimination proposed by the authors of the test.

Conclusions:

We propose this test as a useful tool to assess health literacy in the adult population in Chile. Its use and incorporation into local research can be especially recommended in the areas of education and health promotion.