Health Literacy Assessment in a Juvenile Corrections Population

A serious public health issue, health literacy must be integrated into all patient encounters. Given a paucity of evidence, formal health literacy assessment also should be considered for at-risk subgroups, including incarcerated adolescents. This study reflects such an assessment, undertaken in 5 juvenile justice facilities, using the REALM-Teen screening tool to target subgroups for interventions. REALM-teen scores of 174 youth had a mean of 60.2 (SD 7.7, range 31-66). Participants who were non-Caucasian, male, and Hispanic tended to have lower scores. Tailored provider-client communication is recommended for these subgroups.