Psychology RootsMaternal Health Literacy Inventory in Pregnancy
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About Maternal Health Literacy Inventory in Pregnancy
Scale Name
Maternal Health Literacy Inventory in Pregnancy
Author Details
Safoura Taheri,Mahmoud Tavousi,Zohre Momenimovahed,Ashraf Direkvand-Moghadam,Azita Tiznobaik,Zainab Suhrabi,Ziba Taghizadeh
Translation Availability
English
Background/Description
The Maternal Health Literacy Inventory in Pregnancy (MHELIP) was developed to assess health literacy among pregnant women—specifically their ability to obtain, understand, evaluate, and apply health-related information during pregnancy.
Taheri et al. (2020) designed the scale in response to a growing need for a pregnancy-specific health literacy tool, as general health literacy instruments (such as TOFHLA or REALM) did not adequately capture the unique informational and behavioral dimensions relevant to maternal care.
The instrument was based on Nutbeam’s model of health literacy, which includes three major levels—functional, communicative, and critical literacy. The MHELIP focuses on how pregnant women engage with prenatal health information, communicate with healthcare providers, and make informed decisions that affect both maternal and fetal health outcomes.
The tool is widely used in maternal and reproductive health research, prenatal education programs, and public health assessments to identify literacy-related barriers to safe pregnancy outcomes.
Administration, Scoring and Interpretation
- Type: Self-report inventory
- Target Population: Pregnant women (any trimester)
- Items: 48 items (final version after psychometric validation)
- Response Format: 5-point Likert scale ranging from
1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree - Dimensions/Subscales:
- Scoring:
- Total score is the sum of all item responses.
- Higher scores indicate greater maternal health literacy.
- Administration Time: Approximately 10–15 minutes
- Mode: Paper-based or digital questionnaire
- Administrator: Researcher, psychologist, nurse, or health educator
Reliability and Validity
- Content Validity:
- Established through expert panel review (CVI = 0.91; CVR = 0.93).
- Construct Validity:
- Confirmed via Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).
- Five-factor model explained 51.9% of the total variance.
- Reliability:
- Cronbach’s alpha = 0.94 for the total scale.
- Subscale reliabilities ranged from 0.81 to 0.91.
- Test–retest reliability (ICC) = 0.96, indicating excellent temporal stability.
- Population: Tested on 320 pregnant women attending prenatal clinics in Iran.
- Convergent Validity: Positively correlated with general health literacy and prenatal care adherence measures.
Available Versions
48-Items
Reference
Taheri, S., Tavousi, M., Momenimovahed, Z., Direkvand-Moghadam, A., Tiznobaik, A., Suhrabi, Z., & Taghizadeh, Z. (2020). Development and psychometric properties of maternal health literacy inventory in pregnancy. PloS one, 15(6), e0234305.
Important Link
Scale File:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is the purpose of the MHELIP?
The MHELIP measures maternal health literacy—the knowledge, comprehension, and practical ability of pregnant women to access and apply health information effectively.
Q2: Who can administer the MHELIP?
It can be administered by health professionals, psychologists, midwives, or researchers working in maternal health or community health literacy programs.
Q3: How is the scale different from general health literacy tools?
Unlike general tools, the MHELIP focuses specifically on pregnancy-related health behaviors, such as nutrition, prenatal care, and communication with obstetric professionals.
Q4: Can it be used in non-clinical settings?
Yes. It can be used in community-based surveys, public health programs, and research studies examining maternal well-being and literacy barriers.
Q5: Is the MHELIP culturally adaptable?
Yes. It has demonstrated high content validity in cross-cultural adaptations and can be translated using standardized back-translation methods to ensure linguistic and conceptual equivalence.
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