Development and psychometric evaluation of future physicians' approach to health literacy scale (F-PATHS)

Tülin Çoban; Sarp Üner; Sevgi Turan; L. Hilal Özcebe; Damla Özyürek; Fahriye Has Akdağ; Bürge Atılgan; Hülya Şirin; Seçil Özkan

doi:10.20518/tjph.1623065

Development and psychometric evaluation of future physicians' approach to health literacy scale (F-PATHS)

Abstract

Objective: Health literacy (HL) practices are a key element of effective communication between patients and healthcare professionals, enabling the delivery of better quality patient-centered care. The main purpose of this study is to develop a set of scales within the scope of an Erasmus + European Union Project in order to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of clinical period students of the national partners about HL. Subsequently, the validity and reliability analyses of the set of scales (Future Physicians’ Approach to HL Scale, F-PATHS) are presented. Methods: A total of 39 statements, to be analyzed for validity and reliability, were delivered to the participants by the convenience sampling method as a component of an online data collection form with a total of 62 questions prepared through Google Forms. Then, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was applied to evaluate the construct validity. Principal component analysis and the “direct oblimin” rotation method were used in EFA. The reliability was calculated with Cronbach’s Alpha and the item-total score correlation. Results: Considering the factor loadings and theoretical framework, items 3, 4 and 26 were removed from the scale set. The total variance explained percentage of the final scale set was 63.96% and the number of factors was 7. The KMO value was 0.913, and the Bartlett test was statistically significant (p<0.001). Considering the theoretical structure and Likert format of the scale set, it was determined that it measured different characteristics and could be evaluated independently as three separate scales. According to the KMO value and Bartlett’s test, the data were suitable for factor analysis for all three scales and the factor structure was regular. Cronbach's Alpha values of the scales are 0.862, 0.858, and 0.909, respectively. Conclusion: F-PATHS appears to be valid in terms of EFA and reliable for determining the approaches of faculty of medicine clinical term students regarding the HL of the society.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

The study was conducted within the framework of an Erasmus+ European Union Project of Strategic Partnership.

Ethical Statement

Participation in the research was carried out on a voluntary basis and informed consent was obtained from the participants. For the research, permission was received from Gazi University Ethics Commission (date: 23.3.2021; number: E-77082166- 604.01.02-59610) and faculty deans.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Health Literacy

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Tülin Çoban ^*
0000-0003-1665-129X
Türkiye

Sarp Üner
0000-0002-9880-8811
Türkiye

Sevgi Turan
0000-0001-9287-0641
Azerbaijan

L. Hilal Özcebe
0000-0002-0918-8519
Türkiye

Damla Özyürek
0000-0002-5413-5766
Türkiye

Fahriye Has Akdağ
0000-0001-5952-0463
Türkiye

Bürge Atılgan
0000-0002-2800-4957
Türkiye

Hülya Şirin
0000-0001-8489-5005
Türkiye

Seçil Özkan
0000-0003-1572-8777
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

December 15, 2025

Publication Date

December 30, 2025

Submission Date

January 21, 2025

Acceptance Date

November 3, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 23 Number: 3

DOI

https://doi.org/10.20518/tjph.1623065

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA65KE42GP

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Çoban, T., Üner, S., Turan, S., Özcebe, L. H., Özyürek, D., Has Akdağ, F., Atılgan, B., Şirin, H., & Özkan, S. (2025). Development and psychometric evaluation of future physicians’ approach to health literacy scale (F-PATHS). Turkish Journal of Public Health, 23(3), 312-331. https://doi.org/10.20518/tjph.1623065

AMA

1.Çoban T, Üner S, Turan S, et al. Development and psychometric evaluation of future physicians’ approach to health literacy scale (F-PATHS). TJPH. 2025;23(3):312-331. doi:10.20518/tjph.1623065

Chicago

Çoban, Tülin, Sarp Üner, Sevgi Turan, et al. 2025. “Development and Psychometric Evaluation of Future Physicians’ Approach to Health Literacy Scale (F-PATHS)”. Turkish Journal of Public Health 23 (3): 312-31. https://doi.org/10.20518/tjph.1623065.

EndNote

Çoban T, Üner S, Turan S, Özcebe LH, Özyürek D, Has Akdağ F, Atılgan B, Şirin H, Özkan S (December 1, 2025) Development and psychometric evaluation of future physicians’ approach to health literacy scale (F-PATHS). Turkish Journal of Public Health 23 3 312–331.

IEEE

[1]T. Çoban et al., “Development and psychometric evaluation of future physicians’ approach to health literacy scale (F-PATHS)”, TJPH, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 312–331, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.20518/tjph.1623065.

ISNAD

Çoban, Tülin - Üner, Sarp - Turan, Sevgi - Özcebe, L. Hilal - Özyürek, Damla - Has Akdağ, Fahriye - Atılgan, Bürge - Şirin, Hülya - Özkan, Seçil. “Development and Psychometric Evaluation of Future Physicians’ Approach to Health Literacy Scale (F-PATHS)”. Turkish Journal of Public Health 23/3 (December 1, 2025): 312-331. https://doi.org/10.20518/tjph.1623065.

JAMA

1.Çoban T, Üner S, Turan S, Özcebe LH, Özyürek D, Has Akdağ F, Atılgan B, Şirin H, Özkan S. Development and psychometric evaluation of future physicians’ approach to health literacy scale (F-PATHS). TJPH. 2025;23:312–331.

MLA

Çoban, Tülin, et al. “Development and Psychometric Evaluation of Future Physicians’ Approach to Health Literacy Scale (F-PATHS)”. Turkish Journal of Public Health, vol. 23, no. 3, Dec. 2025, pp. 312-31, doi:10.20518/tjph.1623065.

Vancouver

1.Tülin Çoban, Sarp Üner, Sevgi Turan, L. Hilal Özcebe, Damla Özyürek, Fahriye Has Akdağ, Bürge Atılgan, Hülya Şirin, Seçil Özkan. Development and psychometric evaluation of future physicians’ approach to health literacy scale (F-PATHS). TJPH. 2025 Dec. 1;23(3):312-31. doi:10.20518/tjph.1623065